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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 · pitcher · cue · cold · drill · board · can · tube

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. tube — a container
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cue — for pool
  8. drill — army training
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tube — the underground
  11. can — a tin
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. can — to be able to
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. board — a committee
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. board — to get on
  23. drill — a practice
  24. can — a tin

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