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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. fall — the season
  3. race — humankind
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fall — to drop
  8. perch — the fish
  9. cue — for pool
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chip — for betting
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. court — of law
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chip — to eat
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — not warm
  21. race — a contest
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cue — a signal

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