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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cue — a hint
  3. ball — a dance
  4. race — a contest
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cue — a signal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. race — the arms race
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. kick — in football
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cue — for pool
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. field — for sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ball — a great time
  19. race — humankind
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. rule — government
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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