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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. land — ground
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. band — a ring
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spring — a coil
  7. cue — a hint
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. land — to come down
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. band — a music group
  16. cue — for pool
  17. land — a country
  18. spring — the season
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. capital — money
  21. spring — of water
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — clever
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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