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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. spell — letters
  3. tear — from crying
  4. dip — to sink
  5. court — of a king
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cue — for pool
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spell — magic
  14. scale — size or range
  15. court — for sport
  16. march — the month
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. scale — in music
  21. tear — to rip
  22. court — of law
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. cue — a hint

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