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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cue · wake · bear · nail · file · game

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. cue — for pool
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. game — a match
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bear — the animal
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. game — wild animals
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people

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