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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. cue — a signal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. land — ground
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cue — a hint
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bark — to shout
  13. roll — a cake
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cue — for pool
  17. plane — a tool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. land — a country
  21. roll — a list
  22. band — a ring
  23. land — to come down
  24. band — a music group

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