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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. land — ground
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. land — a country
  13. court — for sport
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cue — a hint
  16. land — to come down
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cue — a signal
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — a container

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