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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pop — soda
  3. net — in sport
  4. cue — a signal
  5. squash — to crush
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. cue — a hint
  9. face — to confront
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. roll — a list
  12. pop — music
  13. cue — for pool
  14. sharp — clever
  15. net — for catching
  16. squash — the sport
  17. net — after costs
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. face — part of the head
  20. court — of law
  21. face — to point toward
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. pop — to visit

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