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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 can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chip — for betting
  4. cue — a signal
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. row — to paddle
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chair — a leader
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. degree — an amount
  12. current — happening now
  13. degree — temperature
  14. current — of water
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cold — not warm
  17. current — electric
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cue — a hint
  20. row — a line
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chip — to eat
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cold — an illness

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