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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. snap — to click
  4. cue — for pool
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — a signal
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lie — to recline
  24. coach — a trainer

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