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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 120 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cap — of ice
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cue — for pool
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. pass — a permit
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. drill — army training
  16. hand — help
  17. cue — a hint
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. drill — a practice
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. hand — in cards
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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