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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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468
Word bank
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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. field — farmland
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. field — a subject
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. scale — size or range
  11. pit — a hole
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cell — a phone
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pit — in a race
  21. squash — the sport
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. cue — for pool
  24. field — for sport

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