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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. mate — a partner
  3. capital — money
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — for pool
  6. squash — to crush
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. march — the month
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. mate — to breed
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. file — a tool
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. mate — a friend
  18. march — music
  19. file — a line of people
  20. capital — a city
  21. squash — the sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. march — the month
  24. file — a document

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