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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. rest — a break
  4. cue — a hint
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mug — a cup
  10. lean — thin
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. mug — a face
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cue — for pool
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lean — to bend
  20. mug — to rob
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — humankind
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rest — what's left

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