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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. hand — help
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. rush — hurry
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. mine — for digging
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. swing — music
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cue — for pool
  16. swing — in golf
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cue — a hint
  22. rash — hasty
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — to play on

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