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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 116 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. perch — the fish
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wax — to grow
  14. rest — a break
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cold — an illness
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rest — what's left
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cue — for pool
  24. wax — in the ear

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