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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chip — for betting
  6. last — final
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cue — a signal
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. chip — to eat
  15. last — finally
  16. cue — a hint
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. last — to go on
  20. cue — for pool
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. patient — a sick person

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