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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. root — of a word
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. root — of a plant
  11. cold — not warm
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. cue — a hint
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — for pool
  23. root — the cause
  24. game — wild animals

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