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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. stand — to bear
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cue — a hint
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. sharp — clever
  13. net — for catching
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. squash — to crush
  16. net — after costs
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. squash — the sport
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. net — in sport
  21. cue — a signal
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. hand — help

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