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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cap — a hat
  4. game — wild animals
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. mug — a cup
  8. mug — to rob
  9. ground — a position
  10. cue — a signal
  11. mug — a face
  12. field — for sport
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cap — of ice
  15. game — a match
  16. field — a subject
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cap — a lid
  22. deal — to handle
  23. field — farmland
  24. hide — to keep secret

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