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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 120 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fall — to drop
  7. face — to point toward
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. face — part of the head
  14. sharp — clever
  15. tear — to rip
  16. fall — the season
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fall — to drop
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. face — to confront

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