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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 116 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 · lean · hand · cell · land · nail · game · straw

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cell — in biology
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. game — a match
  6. cue — for pool
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. hand — in cards
  13. lean — to bend
  14. hand — help
  15. cell — a phone
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. game — wild animals
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. lean — thin
  23. cue — a hint
  24. land — ground

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