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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. cue — for pool
  5. ball — a great time
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. mate — to breed
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. row — to paddle
  13. rule — a law
  14. mate — a friend
  15. net — for catching
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wake — a trail
  19. row — a line
  20. rule — government
  21. cue — a signal
  22. ball — a dance
  23. cue — a hint
  24. kid — child

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