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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 120 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: land · content · cue · pitch · straw · vault · bark · game

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. land — to come down
  3. cue — a hint
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. land — ground
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. content — happy
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. land — a country
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cue — a signal
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bark — to shout
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. game — a match
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pitch — completely
  19. content — the amount
  20. game — wild animals
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. vault — a safe

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