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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mug — a cup
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cue — a hint
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. swing — to play on
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cue — for pool
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mug — to rob

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com