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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cue — a signal
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. cue — for pool
  5. hand — help
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spell — letters
  12. cue — a hint
  13. hand — in cards
  14. field — a subject
  15. spell — magic
  16. field — for sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. land — to come down
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. field — farmland
  21. land — ground
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. spell — a short time
  24. land — a country

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