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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cue — for pool
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cue — a signal
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. capital — a city
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. capital — money
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cue — a hint
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. perch — the fish
  24. date — the fruit

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