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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cold — not warm
  3. court — for sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. hand — in cards
  6. key — in music
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. key — the most important part
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cue — a hint
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. court — of law
  17. kick — in football
  18. court — of a king
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. key — for a lock
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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