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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. court — of law
  3. key — for a lock
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. key — the most important part
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. root — of a plant
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stock — goods
  15. mate — a friend
  16. band — a music group
  17. key — in music
  18. mate — a partner
  19. root — of a word
  20. band — a ring
  21. stock — shares
  22. cue — for pool
  23. root — the cause
  24. mate — to breed

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