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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cue — for pool
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. spring — of water
  11. bat — the animal
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. spring — a coil
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. spring — the season
  23. cue — a signal
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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