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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. scale — in music
  5. rest — a break
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. rock — a stone
  9. game — a match
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rock — music
  12. spring — the season
  13. cue — for pool
  14. chip — to eat
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. chip — for betting
  18. spring — a coil
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cue — a signal
  24. spring — of water

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