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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cue — a signal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. season — in sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. season — of the year
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cue — for pool
  9. ground — a position
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. swing — to play on
  12. cue — a hint
  13. club — for dancing
  14. chip — to eat
  15. swing — in golf
  16. chip — for betting
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. swing — music
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. clip — a video
  21. ground — the earth
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for golf
  24. shower — rain

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