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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. board — a committee
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. field — farmland
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pitch — completely
  7. firm — decided
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cue — a hint
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. board — to get on
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. firm — steady
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cold — not warm
  20. firm — a company
  21. field — a subject
  22. cue — for pool
  23. field — for sport
  24. cold — an illness

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