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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cap — of ice
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. swing — in golf
  13. spring — of water
  14. game — a match
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. bulb — for light
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. spring — the season
  21. swing — music
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. spring — a coil

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