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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pop — soda
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cue — for pool
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pop — music
  9. cue — a signal
  10. game — a match
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cue — a hint
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — music
  21. pop — to visit
  22. game — wild animals
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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