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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. roll — a cake
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. bat — the animal
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. sharp — clever
  8. roll — a list
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cue — for pool
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. scale — in music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. scale — size or range
  17. squash — the sport
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. shower — rain
  20. cue — a hint
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. squash — to crush
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. sharp — with an edge

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