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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. spell — magic
  4. snap — to click
  5. kid — to tease
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. kid — child
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — for pool
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — thin
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. row — a line
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — a short time
  19. row — to paddle
  20. lean — to bend
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — low music
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. lean — to rest against

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