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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. pop — soda
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cue — a signal
  5. chest — a box
  6. cue — for pool
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pop — music
  11. chest — of your body
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mark — a trace
  14. pop — to visit
  15. chest — of your body
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. dip — to sink
  20. mark — a grade
  21. cue — a hint
  22. fork — in a road
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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