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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. vault — a safe
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — music
  9. sharp — clever
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cue — a hint
  12. pop — soda
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. spring — the season
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. spring — of water
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. spring — a coil
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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