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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. current — of water
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. cue — a hint
  12. current — electric
  13. staff — employees
  14. cold — not warm
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. staff — a stick
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wind — moving air
  19. current — happening now
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cue — for pool
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. cold — the Cold War

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