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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. court — of a king
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cue — for pool
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. scale — size or range
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. row — a line
  11. rest — what's left
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. court — for sport
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cue — a hint
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cue — a signal
  21. scale — in music
  22. court — of law
  23. snap — to click
  24. rest — a break

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