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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. snap — to click
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cue — a hint
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — an amount
  9. prune — to trim
  10. march — music
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hand — in cards
  13. march — the month
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. hand — help
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. deal — to handle
  20. degree — from a university
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cue — for pool
  24. calf — of the leg

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