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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. spell — a short time
  10. roll — a list
  11. cue — a hint
  12. field — farmland
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. spell — letters
  15. field — for sport
  16. cue — for pool
  17. spell — magic
  18. field — a subject

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