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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. snap — to click
  3. cue — for pool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cue — a signal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tear — from crying
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. file — a tool
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — obliged
  19. file — a document
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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