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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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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: cue · nail · stick · pitch · coach · tube · cell · face

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cell — a phone
  4. face — to confront
  5. cue — a signal
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. face — to point toward
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. pitch — completely
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. tube — a container

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