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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cell — in biology
  7. present — there
  8. spell — magic
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cue — a hint
  11. game — a match
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cue — for pool
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. present — the time now
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. present — a gift

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