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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: chest · stick · current · swing · cue · drill · rest · wound

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. cue — a hint
  3. current — electric
  4. current — of water
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. swing — to play on
  7. current — happening now
  8. drill — army training
  9. swing — music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. drill — the tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. swing — in golf
  21. rest — what's left
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wound — an injury
  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