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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. drill — a practice
  3. cue — a signal
  4. fall — the season
  5. pit — in a race
  6. capital — a city
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wake — a trail
  9. capital — money
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. mug — to rob
  12. drill — army training
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mug — a cup
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bat — the animal
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cue — a hint
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pit — a hole
  24. capital — a big letter

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