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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 take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cue — a signal
  12. spring — a coil
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. land — a country
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cue — for pool
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. spring — of water
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. land — to come down
  22. spring — the season
  23. rest — a break
  24. land — ground

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