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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cue — a signal
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hand — help
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fine — high quality
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. perch — the fish
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. file — a tool
  14. cue — for pool
  15. fine — all right
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. file — a document
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cue — a hint

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