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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. cue — a signal
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. wound — an injury
  10. deal — to handle
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — all right
  13. cue — a hint
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rock — music
  18. game — a match
  19. cold — not warm
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cue — for pool
  24. fine — a penalty

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