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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chip — to eat
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. chip — for betting
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. tube — the underground
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chest — a box
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cue — a hint

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