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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. spring — of water
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. board — to get on
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bass — low music
  10. kid — child
  11. cue — a hint
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bass — the fish
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. spring — a coil
  18. last — final
  19. wax — to grow
  20. spring — the season
  21. board — a committee
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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