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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cue — a signal
  3. current — happening now
  4. prune — to trim
  5. march — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. current — electric
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — for pool
  10. march — the month
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. drill — army training
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. drill — the tool
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. current — of water
  20. kick — in football
  21. prune — to trim
  22. drill — a practice
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — not warm

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