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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cue — for pool
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cue — a signal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cue — a hint
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. net — after costs
  16. fork — in a road
  17. rule — government
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. shower — rain
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. coach — a trainer

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