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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: chest · hide · hand · tube · land · bowl · net · cue

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. land — ground
  3. cue — a signal
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. net — after costs
  6. cue — for pool
  7. net — in sport
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. land — to come down
  10. hand — help
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. tube — a container
  13. chest — of your body
  14. net — for catching
  15. land — a country
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cue — a hint
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bowl — to roll

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