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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. court — of a king
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. court — for sport
  9. drill — the tool
  10. court — of law
  11. mark — a grade
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cue — for pool
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chest — of your body
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. chest — a box
  19. mark — a trace
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. last — final
  22. drill — army training
  23. cue — a signal
  24. mark — to pay attention

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