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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fork — in a road
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. chest — of your body
  7. game — a match
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bass — low music
  11. fine — all right
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cap — of ice
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chest — a box
  23. cap — a lid
  24. game — a kind of play

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