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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. rule — a law
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spring — of water
  7. current — happening now
  8. rule — government
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. bark — to shout
  12. current — of water
  13. current — electric
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. game — a match
  17. cue — for pool
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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