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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bark — to shout
  3. last — finally
  4. cue — for pool
  5. press — to push
  6. last — final
  7. land — a country
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. object — an aim
  12. land — to come down
  13. object — to protest
  14. cue — a hint
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. land — ground
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. pitch — completely
  21. object — a thing
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — to go on

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