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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 120 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. last — to go on
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cue — for pool
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. last — final
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cue — a hint
  12. last — finally
  13. clip — a video
  14. hand — in cards
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. hand — help
  20. rash — a series
  21. cue — a signal
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. coach — a trainer

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