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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 120 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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cue — for pool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cue — a signal
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. perch — the fish
  15. race — a contest
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. race — humankind
  18. bound — obliged
  19. chip — for betting
  20. plane — a tool
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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