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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. pit — in a race
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. field — farmland
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cue — a hint
  9. hand — help
  10. field — a subject
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bass — the fish
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pit — a hole
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. field — for sport
  19. scale — in music
  20. bear — the animal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bass — low music

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