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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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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: straw · cue · temple · wound · spring · bat · toast · suit

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. toast — bread
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. spring — of water
  6. suit — in cards
  7. suit — to fit
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. suit — clothes
  16. wound — an injury
  17. spring — the season
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. straw — dry grass

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