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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. cue — a hint
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. chair — a leader
  7. scale — in music
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. root — of a plant
  12. land — ground
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cell — in biology
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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