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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cue — for pool
  10. pop — soda
  11. can — a tin
  12. wind — moving air
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. can — a tin
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. cue — a hint
  17. can — to be able to
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cold — not warm
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. pop — music

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