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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. cue — a hint
  6. court — of a king
  7. rash — a series
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. rash — hasty
  10. firm — a company
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cue — for pool
  14. court — for sport
  15. firm — decided
  16. firm — steady
  17. mine — for digging
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. branch — a division
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. court — of law

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