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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. staff — employees
  3. cue — for pool
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. file — a line of people
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. chip — for betting
  8. staff — employees
  9. tube — a container
  10. chest — of your body
  11. date — the fruit
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cue — a hint
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. tube — the underground
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. chest — a box
  22. staff — a stick
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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