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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. tube — a container
  4. field — a subject
  5. wound — an injury
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. tube — the underground
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pound — a weight
  12. wound — an injury
  13. row — a line
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. stand — to bear
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — for pool
  20. field — farmland
  21. row — to paddle
  22. field — for sport
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. stand — for spectators

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