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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. mate — a friend
  3. press — to push
  4. perch — the fish
  5. plane — a tool
  6. last — to go on
  7. press — a publisher
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. land — ground
  10. cue — a hint
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. wind — moving air
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — a country
  18. last — finally
  19. press — newspapers
  20. last — final
  21. cue — for pool
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. land — to come down

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