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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 124 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cue — a hint
  4. hand — help
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cue — for pool
  7. rest — what's left
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. spell — magic
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spell — a short time
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. chip — for betting
  16. spell — letters
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. hand — in cards
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chip — to eat
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. cue — a signal

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