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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a hint
  5. hand — help
  6. last — to go on
  7. shower — rain
  8. last — final
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. shower — to wash
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cue — a signal
  14. prune — to trim
  15. land — ground
  16. prune — to trim
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. last — finally
  19. hand — in cards
  20. land — to come down
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. land — a country

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