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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. field — farmland
  4. craft — a skill
  5. field — a subject
  6. bore — to tire
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cue — for pool
  9. bound — certain
  10. game — a match
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bound — tied together
  19. spring — of water
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. field — for sport
  23. staff — employees
  24. game — wild animals

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