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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. land — ground
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. file — a tool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. spring — of water
  8. file — a document
  9. spring — the season
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. land — a country
  12. spring — a coil
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. key — for a lock
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. file — a line of people
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — in music
  23. land — to come down
  24. cue — for pool

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