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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. face — to point toward
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. cue — for pool
  6. spell — a short time
  7. root — of a word
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. spell — letters
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. spell — magic
  14. face — to confront
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. root — the cause
  19. face — part of the head
  20. fork — in a road
  21. mine — for digging
  22. root — of a plant
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cell — in a prison

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