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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. hand — help
  3. cue — a signal
  4. mate — a partner
  5. spell — a short time
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hand — in cards
  10. mate — a friend
  11. spell — magic
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. squash — to crush
  15. spell — letters
  16. mate — to breed
  17. cue — a hint
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. cue — for pool
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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