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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. row — a line
  4. race — humankind
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cue — a signal
  9. race — the arms race
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spring — the season
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. row — to paddle
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. race — a contest
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bat — the animal
  21. deal — to handle
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. branch — a division

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