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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. cue — for pool
  5. branch — a division
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. game — wild animals
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. tube — a container
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cue — a signal
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. game — a match
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. wound — an injury
  23. court — for sport
  24. branch — of a bank

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