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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 120 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — to tease
  5. chest — of your body
  6. march — the month
  7. last — finally
  8. march — the month
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cue — for pool
  13. last — final
  14. cue — a signal
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chest — a box
  20. march — music
  21. kid — child
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. last — to go on
  24. chest — of your body

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