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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. march — music
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pop — soda
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pop — music
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. root — of a word
  14. march — the month
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — for pool
  17. root — of a plant
  18. degree — from a university
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. root — the cause
  22. march — the month
  23. pop — to visit
  24. degree — temperature

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