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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. snap — to click
  3. capital — money
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. land — ground
  7. capital — a city
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cue — a signal
  13. land — to come down
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cue — a hint
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. land — a country
  23. swing — in golf
  24. capital — a big letter

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