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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. spell — letters
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. swing — in golf
  9. spell — magic
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cue — a hint
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. wind — moving air
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cue — for pool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. swing — music
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. spell — a short time

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