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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pop — to visit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. hand — in cards
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pop — soda
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. game — a match
  13. pop — music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cue — a signal
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cue — for pool
  19. game — wild animals
  20. hand — help
  21. cue — a hint
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. prune — the fruit

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