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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 don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cue — a signal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. snap — to click
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cue — a hint
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. kid — child
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cue — for pool
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. sharp — clever

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