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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: shower · cue · bound · bat · last · game · fork · press

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. shower — rain
  3. last — final
  4. cue — a hint
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. last — finally
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. game — a match
  11. bound — obliged
  12. last — to go on
  13. press — a publisher
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. press — to push
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bound — certain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bound — tied together

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