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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cold — not warm
  5. staff — employees
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bound — certain
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bound — obliged
  10. drill — army training
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bound — tied together
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. staff — employees
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. cue — for pool
  23. rush — hurry
  24. drill — the tool

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