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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.

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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: cue · mark · rush · staff · wound · game · cold · pit

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. pit — a hole
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wound — an injury
  6. game — a match
  7. rush — hurry
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pit — in a race
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. staff — employees
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a hint
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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