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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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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 · rush · kid · bat · game · court · fan · spell

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. spell — magic
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. court — of a king
  6. game — a match
  7. kid — to tease
  8. spell — letters
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kid — child
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spell — a short time
  13. court — of law
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. court — for sport
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cue — a signal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cue — a hint
  23. rush — hurry
  24. fan — a supporter

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