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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. current — happening now
  5. bark — to shout
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. current — of water
  8. net — after costs
  9. current — electric
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cue — a hint
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. capital — a city
  14. net — in sport
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — money
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. net — for catching
  24. lash — an eyelash

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