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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · wake · swing · cue · hand · cell · coach · bat

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cue — for pool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cell — a phone
  12. swing — music
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cell — in biology
  15. hand — help
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rule — government
  19. wake — a trail
  20. swing — in golf
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — a signal
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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