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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. race — the arms race
  3. cue — a hint
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. race — a contest
  7. clip — a video
  8. ball — a dance
  9. club — for dancing
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. race — humankind
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cue — for pool
  15. squash — to crush
  16. ball — a great time
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for golf
  20. clip — for paper
  21. squash — the sport
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. clip — to cut
  24. squash — the vegetable

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