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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. staff — a stick
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. tube — a container
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cue — for pool
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cue — a signal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. staff — employees
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. staff — employees

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