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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 116 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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — for pool
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lean — thin
  6. cold — not warm
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. cue — a hint
  10. lean — to bend
  11. court — of law
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. shower — rain
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cold — an illness
  18. shower — to wash
  19. root — of a plant
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. chair — a leader
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — the cause
  24. lash — to lash out

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