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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rash — a series
  4. cue — a signal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chip — to eat
  9. rash — hasty
  10. present — a gift
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. present — the time now
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. court — for sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. cue — for pool
  20. court — of law
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. court — of a king
  23. present — there
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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