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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wind — moving air
  4. land — ground
  5. sharp — clever
  6. cue — a signal
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mate — to breed
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cue — for pool
  16. chip — for betting
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mate — a friend
  19. chip — to eat
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. mate — a partner
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. wind — to turn a key

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