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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 124 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. band — a ring
  3. track — to keep track
  4. court — for sport
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. field — for sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. field — farmland
  9. last — to go on
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. track — a song
  12. cue — a hint
  13. court — of law
  14. last — final
  15. court — of a king
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. deal — to handle
  19. track — a path
  20. field — a subject
  21. cue — for pool
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. last — finally

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