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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pop — music
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. race — the arms race
  11. club — for golf
  12. band — a music group
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. race — humankind
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. pop — soda
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pop — to visit
  22. race — a contest
  23. row — a line
  24. perch — the fish

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