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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cold — not warm
  6. net — for catching
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. drill — the tool
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. net — after costs
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. net — in sport
  21. drill — a practice
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. drill — army training

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