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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 124 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: pit · racket · bowl · court · cue · cold · tube · root

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. root — the cause
  3. tube — a container
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. cue — for pool
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cold — not warm
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. court — of a king
  24. tube — the underground

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