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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. pop — music
  3. capital — money
  4. pop — to visit
  5. deal — to handle
  6. cue — for pool
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bank — for money
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cue — a hint
  13. kid — child
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bank — for money
  16. pop — soda
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bank — of a river
  19. kid — to tease
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. season — of the year
  22. capital — a city
  23. last — finally
  24. season — in sport

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