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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. pass — a permit
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pop — to visit
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. cue — for pool
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. band — a ring
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. cold — not warm
  24. game — a match

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