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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bear — the animal
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. land — ground
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stock — shares
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. branch — a division
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cue — for pool
  18. land — a country
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. land — to come down
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. stock — goods
  24. branch — of a bank

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