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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 116 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. capital — money
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bass — low music
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bass — the fish
  16. capital — a city
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cue — a hint
  19. game — a match
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. game — wild animals

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