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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. band — a music group
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. roll — a cake
  5. land — a country
  6. bulb — for light
  7. kid — child
  8. object — a thing
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. band — a ring
  11. bulb — for light
  12. object — an aim
  13. kid — to tease
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. object — to protest
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. roll — a list
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. land — to come down
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cue — for pool
  23. land — ground
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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