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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. shower — rain
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. shower — to wash
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pass — a permit
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. march — music
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cue — a hint
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. roll — a cake
  18. fall — the season
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. cue — for pool
  22. roll — a list
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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