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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. field — for sport
  4. track — a song
  5. drill — army training
  6. field — farmland
  7. craft — boats
  8. field — a subject
  9. cue — a hint
  10. track — to keep track
  11. march — the month
  12. craft — a skill
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. foot — a measure
  16. drill — a practice
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. march — music
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. cue — for pool
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. march — the month
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. track — a path

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