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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cue — a signal
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. cell — in biology
  6. last — final
  7. rock — music
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cue — for pool
  15. last — finally
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cue — a hint
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cell — a phone
  23. last — to go on
  24. rock — a stone

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