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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bear — the animal
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cue — for pool
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cue — a hint
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bark — to shout
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wax — for sculpting

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