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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. march — the month
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. degree — temperature
  5. race — humankind
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. key — in music
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. race — the arms race
  12. key — for a lock
  13. mate — a partner
  14. march — the month
  15. key — the most important part
  16. race — a contest
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. march — music
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mouse — the animal

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