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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 124 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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. court — of law
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. land — ground
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hand — help
  14. cue — a hint
  15. land — to come down
  16. court — for sport
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cue — a signal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chest — a box
  21. land — a country
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. court — of a king
  24. pitcher — a jug

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