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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. ball — a dance
  3. snap — to click
  4. band — a music group
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. present — the time now
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. present — there
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cue — for pool
  18. mine — for digging
  19. game — wild animals
  20. cue — a hint
  21. present — a gift
  22. game — a match
  23. band — a ring
  24. ball — a great time

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