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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pitch — completely
  5. staff — employees
  6. drill — army training
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. spring — a coil
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cue — a hint
  11. kick — in football
  12. drill — the tool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. staff — employees
  15. cue — for pool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. spring — of water
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. spring — the season
  20. staff — a stick
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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