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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cue — for pool
  4. ground — a position
  5. march — the month
  6. scale — in music
  7. swing — music
  8. ground — crushed
  9. chip — to eat
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. march — music
  12. cue — a hint
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. land — to come down
  16. swing — to play on
  17. march — the month
  18. chip — for betting
  19. land — a country
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. land — ground
  24. swing — in golf

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