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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: scale · hide · kid · court · wake · ball · straw · cue

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. cue — for pool
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. court — of law
  5. wake — a trail
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cue — a hint
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. kid — child
  17. court — of a king
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — in music
  22. cue — a signal
  23. court — for sport
  24. straw — dry grass

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