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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 120 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. scale — size or range
  4. rash — hasty
  5. deal — to handle
  6. kid — child
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. hand — help
  9. cue — a hint
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. hand — in cards
  12. scale — in music
  13. cue — for pool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. kid — to tease
  16. court — of law
  17. saw — the tool
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rash — a series
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. saw — the tool
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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