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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mug — to rob
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mug — a face
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. race — a contest
  11. row — to paddle
  12. mug — a cup
  13. season — in sport
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. kid — child
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pit — in a race
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a hint
  21. row — a line
  22. race — humankind
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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