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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. capital — money
  3. pound — a weight
  4. chip — to eat
  5. capital — a city
  6. current — happening now
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. current — of water
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cue — a hint
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. mine — for digging
  20. current — electric
  21. chip — for betting
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. cue — for pool

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