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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. race — a contest
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. field — a subject
  5. dip — to sink
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. cue — for pool
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cue — a hint
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. saw — the tool
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. march — the month
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. saw — the tool
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. march — music
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. march — the month

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