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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cue — for pool
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cue — a hint
  7. field — for sport
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cue — a signal
  12. bat — the animal
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. field — a subject
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. field — farmland

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