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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cold — an illness
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — army training
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. drill — the tool
  22. swing — music
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cue — for pool

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