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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. track — a song
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cue — a signal
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. lean — thin
  9. track — a path
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cold — not warm
  12. track — to keep track
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ground — the earth
  15. net — in sport
  16. ground — a position
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cue — for pool
  19. ground — crushed
  20. cold — an illness
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — to rest against

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