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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. kick — in football
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. game — wild animals
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. track — a path
  11. cue — for pool
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. track — a song
  15. field — farmland
  16. lie — to recline
  17. cue — a hint
  18. track — to keep track
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cell — a phone
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cell — in biology
  24. game — a match

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