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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: sharp · cue · cold · root · rest · dip · kid · fine

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fine — all right
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — the cause
  6. cue — a hint
  7. kid — to tease
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. rest — a break
  11. cold — an illness
  12. root — of a word
  13. cold — not warm
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. rest — what's left
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. fine — high quality
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. dip — to sink
  22. kid — child
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cue — for pool

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