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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. club — for golf
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. field — farmland
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. club — a group
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cue — a hint
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. field — a subject
  17. cue — for pool
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. club — for dancing
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. field — for sport
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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