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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 120 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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. march — the month
  3. cue — for pool
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cue — a signal
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. land — ground
  8. dip — to sink
  9. ball — a dance
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. chest — a box
  12. game — a match
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. cue — a hint
  18. chest — of your body
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. ball — a great time
  22. rush — hurry
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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