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

Word bank: chair · leaves · coach · cold · craft · cue · mate · kick

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. kick — in football
  3. cue — a hint
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. craft — boats
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. mate — to breed
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cold — not warm
  17. craft — a skill
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chair — a leader
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. mate — a friend

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