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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. scale — in music
  4. cue — a hint
  5. file — a document
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. scale — size or range
  11. cue — for pool
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. capital — money
  15. file — a line of people
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. capital — a city
  19. file — a tool
  20. vault — a safe
  21. dip — to sink
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. trunk — of a car

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