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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. fall — the season
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wound — an injury
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. row — a line
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fall — to drop
  11. game — wild animals
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cue — for pool
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cue — a signal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. game — a match
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mine — for digging

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