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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. spell — magic
  10. race — the arms race
  11. game — wild animals
  12. spell — a short time
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. row — a line
  17. game — a match
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tube — the underground
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. lean — to bend
  23. tube — a container
  24. spell — letters

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