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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cue — for pool
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. game — wild animals
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. vault — a safe
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. cue — a signal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. game — a match
  24. hand — help

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