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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cue — for pool
  4. capital — money
  5. track — a song
  6. bat — the animal
  7. firm — steady
  8. capital — a city
  9. firm — decided
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. firm — a company
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cue — a signal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cue — a hint
  20. clip — a video
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. track — a path
  24. bat — for baseball

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