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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cue — a hint
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. game — a match
  5. drill — the tool
  6. court — for sport
  7. game — wild animals
  8. track — a song
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. track — to keep track
  11. court — of law
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. present — the time now
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cue — for pool
  18. drill — army training
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cue — a signal
  21. track — a path
  22. court — of a king
  23. drill — a practice
  24. present — there

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