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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cap — a hat
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cap — a lid
  6. face — part of the head
  7. ground — a position
  8. cell — a phone
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cue — for pool
  12. court — for sport
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cap — of ice
  16. swing — music
  17. court — of law
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. face — to point toward
  20. swing — to play on
  21. face — to confront
  22. ball — a great time
  23. court — of a king
  24. swing — in golf

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