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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a signal
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. land — to come down
  7. mate — to breed
  8. rush — hurry
  9. mate — a friend
  10. roll — a list
  11. cue — a hint
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. roll — a cake
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. land — a country
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. chair — a leader
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. land — ground
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. chair — to sit on
  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