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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: pitcher · shower · cap · wind · chip · fall · ball · cue

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ball — a great time
  4. fall — to drop
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chip — to eat
  9. shower — rain
  10. chip — for betting
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cue — a hint
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. fall — the season
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cap — a hat

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