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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cue — a hint
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. kid — child
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. field — a subject
  16. cue — a signal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. field — farmland
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. field — for sport
  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