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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 116 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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cue — a hint
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. race — humankind
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. scale — size or range
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rule — government
  10. wake — a trail
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kid — to tease
  13. race — a contest
  14. scale — in music
  15. cue — a signal
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. kid — child
  22. rule — a law
  23. cue — for pool
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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