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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cue — a signal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cue — for pool
  6. board — to get on
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tear — from crying
  9. board — a committee
  10. degree — an amount
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. game — a match
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. degree — from a university
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. game — wild animals
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. board — a flat piece

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