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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 shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. lie — to recline
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. file — a line of people
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. file — a document
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. cue — a signal
  12. rush — hurry
  13. file — a tool
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cold — an illness
  17. net — in sport
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chip — to eat
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cue — for pool
  24. racket — a loud noise

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