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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — goods
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bat — the animal
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cue — for pool
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cue — a hint
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. kid — child
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. kid — to tease
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. cue — a signal

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