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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. swing — music
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — a price
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cold — an illness
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. spell — letters
  10. court — of law
  11. charge — in control
  12. court — of a king
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. swing — in golf
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cue — a hint
  19. swing — to play on
  20. spell — magic
  21. court — for sport
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. cue — for pool

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