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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. hand — help
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. pitch — completely
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a list
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. roll — a cake
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. squash — to crush
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hand — in cards
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cue — a signal

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