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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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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: bowl · racket · drill · date · cue · kid · scale · wax

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. kid — to tease
  5. drill — the tool
  6. date — the fruit
  7. wax — to grow
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a hint
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bowl — a football final

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