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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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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 · pit · hand · wake · pass · drill · race · court

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. pit — a hole
  3. court — of a king
  4. cue — for pool
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. drill — a practice
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. drill — army training
  11. court — of law
  12. cue — a hint
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. court — for sport
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pass — a permit
  23. race — humankind
  24. pit — in a race

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