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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. drill — a practice
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cell — a phone
  5. swing — to play on
  6. drill — the tool
  7. charge — a price
  8. cue — a hint
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. mate — a partner
  11. court — for sport
  12. cue — for pool
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mate — a friend
  15. court — of a king
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — clever
  18. swing — music
  19. drill — army training
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — electricity
  23. court — of law
  24. cell — in biology

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