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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cue — for pool
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cue — a signal
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. kid — child
  11. stand — to bear
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cap — a lid
  14. kid — to tease
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bound — obliged
  22. chest — a box
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cap — of ice

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