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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. game — wild animals
  3. branch — a division
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. cue — a signal
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pound — a weight
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. game — a match
  11. rash — a series
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. ball — a great time
  19. cue — for pool
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mouse — the animal

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