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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. race — humankind
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. court — of a king
  9. race — a contest
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. deal — to handle
  12. rush — hurry
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. court — of law
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cue — for pool
  20. court — for sport
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. race — the arms race

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