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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
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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: dip · mark · straw · cue · date · rash · tube · cold

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — a trace
  4. cue — a signal
  5. rash — a series
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. tube — a container
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cue — for pool
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. rash — hasty
  17. cold — an illness
  18. dip — to sink
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cold — not warm
  24. tube — the underground

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