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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 120 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. object — an aim
  4. cue — a hint
  5. rock — music
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — a thing
  8. rock — a stone
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bat — the animal
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. scale — size or range
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year
  19. scale — in music
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. cue — for pool
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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