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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. vault — a safe
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cue — a signal
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. wind — moving air
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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