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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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. ground — the earth
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cue — for pool
  7. swing — in golf
  8. ground — a position
  9. swing — to play on
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pound — a weight
  12. swing — music
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. pound — to hit hard

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