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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rash — hasty
  4. present — the time now
  5. cue — for pool
  6. rash — a series
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. mine — for digging
  10. scale — size or range
  11. cue — a hint
  12. chest — a box
  13. rock — music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — in music
  16. present — there
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. present — a gift
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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