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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cue — a signal
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. game — wild animals
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cue — a hint
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cue — for pool
  12. club — a group
  13. pop — music
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pop — to visit
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. club — for golf
  18. band — a ring
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. game — a match
  22. club — for dancing
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. trunk — of a tree

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