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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 can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pop — to visit
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cue — a signal
  12. fall — to drop
  13. chest — a box
  14. wound — an injury
  15. craft — boats
  16. pop — soda
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cold — an illness
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. pop — music
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. craft — a skill

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