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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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468
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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — for pool
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. present — a gift
  11. game — a match
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wind — moving air
  19. present — there
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. present — the time now
  24. game — a kind of play

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