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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 120 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 · kid · coach · cue · scale · rash · mate · stick

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. scale — size or range
  4. rash — hasty
  5. kid — child
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mate — a friend
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cue — a signal
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rash — a series
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. scale — in music
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. kid — to tease

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