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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. row — a line
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cue — for pool
  8. tube — a container
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cue — a signal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. mug — a face
  19. bulb — for light
  20. mug — to rob
  21. ball — a dance
  22. cue — a hint
  23. ball — a great time
  24. row — to paddle

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