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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cue — a signal
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rash — hasty
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cue — a hint
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cue — for pool

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