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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. game — a match
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. shower — rain
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wake — a trail
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bound — certain
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bear — the animal
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cue — for pool

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