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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cue — for pool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cold — not warm
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. cap — a hat
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cap — of ice
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. game — a match
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. game — wild animals
  18. toast — bread
  19. cue — a hint
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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