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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. cue — a hint
  4. wax — to grow
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cue — for pool
  8. current — electric
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cap — of ice
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cap — a lid
  19. current — happening now
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. current — of water
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wind — moving air

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