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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. spell — magic
  3. cue — a hint
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. spell — letters

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