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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. scale — in music
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. scale — size or range
  8. saw — the tool
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lean — to bend
  12. saw — the tool
  13. perch — the fish
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cue — a hint
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — in sport
  21. lean — thin
  22. cue — for pool
  23. net — for catching
  24. lie — to recline

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