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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cue — a signal
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. game — a match
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spell — a short time
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — wild animals
  12. drill — the tool
  13. spell — magic
  14. drill — a practice
  15. perch — the fish
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fine — all right
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bat — the animal
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. drill — army training
  24. fine — high quality

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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