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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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. key — the most important part
  4. race — the arms race
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. key — for a lock
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. race — a contest
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. craft — boats
  12. cue — for pool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — farmland
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. wound — an injury
  17. race — humankind
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. key — in music
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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