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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. file — a document
  7. spring — of water
  8. file — a tool
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. spring — the season
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — a cake
  13. club — a group
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. spring — a coil
  16. craft — a skill
  17. club — for golf
  18. capital — money
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. cue — for pool
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. file — a line of people
  24. craft — boats

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