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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cue — a signal
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. scale — size or range
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. scale — in music
  9. bark — to shout
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. last — finally
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. drill — a practice
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. drill — army training
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cue — for pool

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