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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. last — finally
  3. cue — a hint
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cue — for pool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cue — a signal
  8. last — final
  9. snap — to click
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. last — to go on
  13. charge — a price
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. shower — to wash
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. charge — in control
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. charge — electricity
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. shower — rain

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