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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. cue — a hint
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. dip — to sink
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cue — a signal
  15. row — to paddle
  16. chest — a box
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. snap — to click
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. chair — a leader

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