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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. ball — a dance
  3. land — to come down
  4. cue — a signal
  5. ball — a great time
  6. squash — the sport
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cue — for pool
  9. ground — a position
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ground — crushed
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. mine — for digging
  14. dip — to sink
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. land — a country
  17. land — ground
  18. ground — the earth
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. jam — a tight spot

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