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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mine — for digging
  6. charge — a price
  7. last — to go on
  8. charge — electricity
  9. cue — a signal
  10. last — finally
  11. craft — a skill
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. craft — boats
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. charge — in control
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. last — final
  24. cold — not warm

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