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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. vault — a safe
  6. current — of water
  7. current — happening now
  8. present — a gift
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cue — a hint
  15. current — electric
  16. cold — an illness
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — there
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fan — to cool the air

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