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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. pop — music
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cue — a signal
  5. row — a line
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. pop — to visit
  8. land — to come down
  9. deal — to handle
  10. pop — soda
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. land — a country
  16. cue — for pool
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. land — ground
  19. pitch — completely
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. deal — an agreement

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