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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pit — a hole
  3. row — a line
  4. fall — the season
  5. cell — a phone
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cue — a hint
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cell — in biology
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cue — a signal
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pop — music
  16. pit — in a race
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cue — for pool
  19. pop — soda
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pop — to visit
  23. fall — to drop
  24. row — to paddle

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