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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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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: cue · straw · board · mate · last · ball · game · ground

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cue — for pool
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. board — a committee
  6. mate — to breed
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. game — wild animals
  9. ball — a dance
  10. mate — a friend
  11. ground — a position
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. last — finally
  16. cue — a hint
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cue — a signal
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. game — a match
  23. ground — the earth
  24. board — to get on

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