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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. dip — to sink
  3. saw — the tool
  4. land — ground
  5. saw — the tool
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. cue — a hint
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. key — the most important part
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mark — a trace
  13. shower — to wash
  14. key — in music
  15. key — for a lock
  16. hand — in cards
  17. land — to come down
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cue — for pool
  20. land — a country
  21. hand — help
  22. cue — a signal
  23. shower — rain
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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