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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. pit — a hole
  3. cue — for pool
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. court — for sport
  6. cold — not warm
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. deal — to handle
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — in a race
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. suit — to fit
  14. cue — a signal
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stock — goods
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. shower — rain
  19. stock — shares
  20. suit — clothes
  21. cold — an illness
  22. suit — in cards
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cold — the Cold War

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