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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cue — a signal
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — to rob
  6. shower — rain
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. fine — high quality
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fine — all right
  13. mug — a face
  14. shower — to wash
  15. hand — help
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. cue — a hint
  20. hand — in cards
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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