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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. deal — to handle
  9. shower — rain
  10. cue — a hint
  11. scale — size or range
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chair — a leader
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. rest — a break
  16. shower — to wash
  17. tear — from crying
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. bat — the animal
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. tear — to rip
  24. scale — in music

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