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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cue — for pool
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bulb — for light
  7. rash — a series
  8. wake — a trail
  9. foot — a measure
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cold — an illness

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