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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. capital — money
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cue — for pool
  8. craft — a skill
  9. capital — a city
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. field — farmland
  16. bark — to shout
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cue — a hint
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. field — a subject
  23. craft — boats
  24. field — for sport

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