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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mate — a partner
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cue — a hint
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mate — to breed
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fork — in a road
  13. board — to get on
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mate — a friend
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. cue — a signal
  18. shower — rain
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. board — a committee
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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