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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cue — a signal
  3. capital — money
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. capital — a city
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cue — a hint
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. capital — a big letter

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