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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. race — humankind
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — goods
  6. chest — a box
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cue — for pool
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. vault — a safe
  14. chest — of your body
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. race — a contest
  17. stock — shares
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cue — a hint
  24. stock — a soup base

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