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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: pound · tear · cue · snap · mouse · court · pass · game

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. cue — a signal
  4. court — of a king
  5. pound — a weight
  6. game — wild animals
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pass — a permit
  10. tear — to rip
  11. snap — to click
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cue — a hint
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. game — a match
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. court — of law
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. court — for sport
  23. cue — for pool
  24. pass — to succeed

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