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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. pop — music
  3. cue — a signal
  4. land — to come down
  5. root — of a word
  6. cue — a hint
  7. spring — a coil
  8. root — of a plant
  9. pop — to visit
  10. ball — a great time
  11. root — the cause
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pop — soda
  17. land — ground
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — the season
  20. chest — a box
  21. land — a country
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — of water
  24. mine — an explosive

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