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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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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. charge — a price
  3. cue — for pool
  4. net — for catching
  5. stock — goods
  6. cue — a hint
  7. charge — in control
  8. stock — shares
  9. club — for golf
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. club — for dancing
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. net — in sport
  14. club — a group
  15. charge — electricity
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. net — after costs

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