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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. land — to come down
  4. cue — for pool
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. cue — a hint
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. land — a country
  10. stock — shares
  11. season — in sport
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. roll — a cake
  16. spring — a coil
  17. season — of the year
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. stock — goods
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. land — ground
  22. spring — the season
  23. roll — a list
  24. spring — of water

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