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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cue — a signal
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. shower — to wash
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cue — a hint
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. game — a match
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. cue — for pool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pop — music
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — to visit
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pound — a weight
  24. branch — a division

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