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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. rest — a break
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. mark — a grade
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. rest — what's left
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lean — thin
  14. cue — for pool
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. rest — what's left
  18. lean — to bend
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. game — a match
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. game — wild animals
  23. chest — a box
  24. mark — a trace

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