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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. cue — a signal
  4. chest — a box
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. cue — a hint
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. field — farmland
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. field — for sport
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. field — a subject
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cue — for pool
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. rule — a law
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. bat — the animal
  24. chest — of your body

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