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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cue — a signal
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. kid — child
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cue — for pool
  21. wake — a trail
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. chair — a leader
  24. dip — to sink

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