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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cue — a signal
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cell — in biology
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. wind — moving air
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cue — a hint
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cue — for pool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cell — a phone
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. shower — to wash
  19. chip — for betting
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. field — a subject
  22. chip — to eat
  23. field — for sport
  24. wind — to turn a key

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