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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cue — a hint
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stock — shares
  11. cue — for pool
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. row — a line
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. prune — to trim
  20. band — a music group
  21. stock — goods
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. band — a ring
  24. game — wild animals

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