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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bear — the animal
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. swing — music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. scale — size or range
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cue — a hint
  14. bear — the animal
  15. band — a music group
  16. file — a document
  17. swing — to play on
  18. file — a tool
  19. band — a ring
  20. cue — for pool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. swing — in golf
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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