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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. swing — music
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. bark — to shout
  9. stand — to bear
  10. land — to come down
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cue — for pool
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. shower — rain
  15. cue — a hint
  16. land — ground
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. swing — to play on
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. land — a country
  21. board — to get on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. board — a committee
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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