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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. rule — government
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rule — a law
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. cue — for pool
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. season — in sport
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. straw — dry grass

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