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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. season — in sport
  4. cue — a hint
  5. fork — in a road
  6. stock — goods
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. game — wild animals
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. game — a match
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stock — shares
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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