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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. march — the month
  3. chest — a box
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cue — for pool
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. march — music
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. cue — a hint
  19. drill — a practice
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. march — the month
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. tube — the underground
  24. drill — army training

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