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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. net — in sport
  3. race — humankind
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. game — wild animals
  6. net — for catching
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. suit — clothes
  10. race — a contest
  11. pound — a weight
  12. game — a match
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cue — a signal
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. suit — in cards
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cue — for pool
  21. kid — child
  22. bat — the animal
  23. suit — to fit
  24. net — after costs

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