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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cue — a signal
  4. last — to go on
  5. cue — for pool
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. club — for dancing
  8. row — to paddle
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. spell — magic
  14. cue — a hint
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. club — a group
  19. row — a line
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. club — for golf
  24. spell — letters

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