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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. spell — magic
  4. ground — a position
  5. net — for catching
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cue — for pool
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spell — a short time
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. spell — letters
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. deal — to handle
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. deal — an agreement

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