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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cue — for pool
  6. can — a tin
  7. cue — a hint
  8. can — to be able to
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. cue — a signal
  11. tear — to rip
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. roll — a cake
  14. march — music
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. march — the month
  17. can — a tin
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. march — the month
  24. chair — a leader

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