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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cue — a hint
  4. face — to confront
  5. game — a match
  6. club — for golf
  7. kid — to tease
  8. prune — to trim
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cue — for pool
  12. prune — to trim
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. kid — child
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. club — a group
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. club — for dancing
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. game — wild animals
  23. face — part of the head
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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