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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 · wound · scale · bear · ball · spring · tube · game

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spring — a coil
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cue — a signal
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. tube — a container
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. spring — of water
  13. bear — the animal
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. tube — the underground
  17. scale — in music
  18. game — a match
  19. bear — the animal
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cue — for pool
  22. spring — the season
  23. wound — an injury
  24. tube — in a tire

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