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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: kid · cue · shower · bat · pitch · rule · bass · ball

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — a law
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. cue — for pool
  5. shower — rain
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bat — the animal
  9. ball — a dance
  10. shower — to wash
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bass — low music
  13. cue — a signal
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cue — a hint
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. kid — child
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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