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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. ball — a dance
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. mark — a grade
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. ball — a great time
  9. mark — a trace
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. march — music
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. land — ground
  15. march — the month
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. land — to come down
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cue — a hint
  21. rest — a break
  22. cue — for pool
  23. rest — what's left
  24. land — a country

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