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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bank — of a river
  3. lie — to recline
  4. cold — not warm
  5. game — wild animals
  6. land — ground
  7. bank — for money
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. land — to come down
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. game — a match
  16. plane — a tool
  17. kid — child
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cue — for pool
  20. land — a country
  21. cue — a hint
  22. bank — for money
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. game — a kind of play

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