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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. toast — bread
  3. rush — hurry
  4. spring — the season
  5. cue — a hint
  6. date — the fruit
  7. capital — money
  8. spring — of water
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cue — for pool
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. capital — a city
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. spring — a coil
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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