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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. can — a tin
  4. field — for sport
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — a group
  8. swing — music
  9. field — a subject
  10. club — for dancing
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. can — a tin
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cue — a hint
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cue — for pool
  18. can — to be able to
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — farmland
  23. tear — to rip
  24. chair — a leader

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