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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: cue · ball · tear · bass · ground · board · mouse · bat

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cue — a hint
  5. board — a committee
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. bass — the fish
  10. ground — a position
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. board — to get on
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bass — low music
  20. cue — for pool
  21. ball — a dance
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. board — a flat piece

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