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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: pitcher · chest · land · date · ground · cue · pass · roll

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. date — the fruit
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cue — a hint
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. roll — a list
  7. pass — a permit
  8. chest — of your body
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. ground — the earth
  11. land — a country
  12. roll — a cake
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ground — a position
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cue — a signal
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cue — for pool
  24. chest — a box

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