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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 116 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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. field — for sport
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cue — a hint
  8. degree — temperature
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. craft — boats
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. field — farmland
  13. cue — for pool
  14. degree — from a university
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. field — a subject
  18. degree — an amount

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