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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cue — a signal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. game — a match
  9. scale — in music
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. game — wild animals
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. bear — the animal
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. game — a kind of play

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