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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cue — a signal
  5. suit — to fit
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cue — for pool
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cue — a hint
  13. wind — moving air
  14. suit — clothes
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wind — moving air
  17. game — a match
  18. pitch — completely
  19. cold — not warm
  20. swing — music
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cold — an illness
  23. suit — in cards
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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