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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. fine — all right
  3. field — farmland
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. roll — a cake
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. object — to protest
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — an aim
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cue — a hint
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cue — for pool
  22. pitch — completely
  23. roll — a list
  24. fine — high quality

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