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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. chest — of your body
  11. sharp — clever
  12. tear — from crying
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. stock — shares
  19. tear — to rip
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cold — an illness
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mouse — the animal

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