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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bound — certain
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bound — obliged
  7. row — a line
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bound — tied together
  12. row — to paddle
  13. press — to push
  14. march — music
  15. bear — the animal
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. march — the month
  19. capital — a city
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cue — a hint
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. capital — money

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