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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. spring — of water
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cue — a hint
  6. current — electric
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cap — a lid
  13. current — happening now
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pitch — completely
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — of ice
  20. spring — a coil
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. current — of water

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