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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cue — a signal
  3. game — a match
  4. lean — thin
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cue — for pool
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. march — the month
  11. lean — to bend
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cue — a hint
  16. perch — the fish
  17. chip — to eat
  18. pitch — completely
  19. march — the month
  20. chip — for betting
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. march — music

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