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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. cue — for pool
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cue — a signal
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chest — a box
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bound — tied together
  8. chest — of your body
  9. drill — army training
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. land — a country
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bound — obliged
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bound — certain
  18. land — to come down
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. scale — in music
  21. land — ground
  22. drill — a practice
  23. scale — for weighing
  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