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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 116 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'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. mine — for digging
  4. march — the month
  5. fine — high quality
  6. last — finally
  7. band — a music group
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. fine — all right
  10. march — music
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. last — to go on
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. march — the month
  18. rush — hurry
  19. cue — for pool
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. last — final
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. band — a ring

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