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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. cue — a signal
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. file — a line of people
  5. perch — the fish
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. race — humankind
  10. bark — to shout
  11. race — a contest
  12. cue — for pool
  13. mine — for digging
  14. race — the arms race
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. file — a tool
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. plane — a tool
  21. ball — a dance
  22. file — a document
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cue — a hint

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