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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — to rob
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. swing — to play on
  10. cue — a hint
  11. swing — in golf
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. date — the fruit
  15. cue — for pool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. swing — music
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cue — a signal

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