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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. game — a match
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cue — a hint
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — for pool
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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