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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. ground — the earth
  3. last — finally
  4. ground — crushed
  5. last — final
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. last — to go on
  8. cue — for pool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. deal — to handle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — to get on
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. ground — a position
  17. cell — in biology
  18. row — a line
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cell — a phone
  22. board — a committee
  23. cue — a hint
  24. deal — an agreement

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