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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. shower — to wash
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cue — for pool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cue — a hint
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bank — for money
  9. tube — a container
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. field — a subject
  13. bulb — for light
  14. field — farmland
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bank — for money
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. tube — the underground
  19. field — for sport
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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