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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. fork — in a road
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. tube — a container
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tube — the underground
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. chest — a box
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. chest — of your body
  14. hand — help
  15. pop — to visit
  16. spring — the season
  17. pop — soda
  18. cue — for pool
  19. spring — of water
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pop — music
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cue — a hint

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