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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: pit · chip · cue · hand · cold · sharp · shower · leaves

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. pit — in a race
  3. hand — help
  4. pit — a hole
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. cue — for pool
  8. shower — to wash
  9. hand — in cards
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. cold — an illness
  13. shower — rain
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. chip — to eat
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. chip — for betting
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cue — a hint
  24. sharp — with an edge

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