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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. shower — to wash
  3. can — to be able to
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. squash — to crush
  6. charge — a price
  7. ball — a great time
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. can — a tin
  11. cue — a signal
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. charge — electricity
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cue — for pool
  16. ball — a dance
  17. shower — rain
  18. charge — in control
  19. squash — the sport
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. can — a tin
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bat — the animal

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