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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. bass — low music
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rule — government
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bat — the animal
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. last — final
  15. cue — a hint
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. last — finally
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bass — the fish
  20. rule — a law
  21. last — to go on
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bear — the animal
  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