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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cap — a hat
  5. spell — magic
  6. cue — for pool
  7. pound — a weight
  8. last — finally
  9. cue — a signal
  10. last — to go on
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. spell — letters
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. last — final
  16. cap — of ice
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cell — in biology

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