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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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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: fall · game · court · cue · drill · land · date · tube

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. land — ground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. cue — a hint
  5. game — wild animals
  6. drill — the tool
  7. game — a match
  8. cue — a signal
  9. land — to come down
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fall — to drop
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. date — the fruit
  14. court — for sport
  15. tube — a container
  16. fall — the season
  17. drill — army training
  18. court — of law
  19. land — a country
  20. cue — for pool
  21. fall — to drop
  22. court — of a king
  23. tube — the underground
  24. date — on the calendar

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