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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bore — to tire
  4. firm — a company
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. march — music
  9. chest — a box
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. kick — in football
  12. cue — for pool
  13. bulb — for light
  14. firm — decided
  15. march — the month
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. bore — to drill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kid — to tease
  21. march — the month
  22. firm — steady
  23. bulb — for light
  24. chest — of your body

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