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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 124 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. file — a tool
  3. cue — a signal
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. cue — for pool
  16. capital — money
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. file — a document
  19. pound — a weight
  20. capital — a city
  21. cell — a phone
  22. fork — in a road
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. file — a line of people

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