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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. root — the cause
  3. last — finally
  4. present — a gift
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cue — a hint
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. key — in music
  9. present — the time now
  10. root — of a word
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. scale — in music
  13. cue — for pool
  14. last — to go on
  15. key — the most important part
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cold — an illness
  19. last — final
  20. present — there
  21. cold — not warm
  22. key — for a lock
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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