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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · kid · date · key · cue · ball

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. field — farmland
  3. cue — for pool
  4. ball — a great time
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. date — the fruit
  8. ball — a dance
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cue — a hint
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. key — the most important part
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cue — a signal

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