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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. band — a ring
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. current — happening now
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. cue — a hint
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. branch — a division
  10. shower — to wash
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. current — electric
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. row — to paddle
  17. band — a music group
  18. current — of water
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. cue — for pool
  21. row — a line
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. hide — to keep secret

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