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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 · pop · mine · chest · cue · nail · pitcher · cold

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cue — a signal
  7. chest — a box
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cold — not warm
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cue — a hint
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pop — music
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pit — in a race
  21. cold — an illness
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pop — soda
  24. mine — belonging to me

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