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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cue — for pool
  4. drill — the tool
  5. court — of law
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cue — a hint
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. spring — the season
  10. cue — a signal
  11. tube — the underground
  12. drill — a practice
  13. row — to paddle
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. row — a line
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. drill — army training
  19. tube — a container
  20. pit — a hole
  21. spring — of water
  22. pit — in a race
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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