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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. drill — a practice
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. hand — in cards
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. drill — army training
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. rest — a break
  14. cue — for pool
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. cue — a signal
  19. stand — to bear
  20. drill — the tool
  21. game — wild animals
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. game — a match
  24. cue — a hint

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