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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. mine — for digging
  4. ground — a position
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. sharp — clever
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cue — a hint
  15. ground — crushed
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. ground — the earth
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cue — for pool
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. perch — the fish

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