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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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 — a hint
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wound — an injury
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. game — a match
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. season — in sport
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. season — of the year
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pass — a permit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cue — a signal
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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