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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. land — a country
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. cue — a hint
  5. wind — moving air
  6. land — to come down
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. foot — a measure
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fall — the season
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cue — for pool
  18. shower — rain
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. land — ground
  24. shower — to wash

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