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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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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 · bat · race · mine · key · field · club · safe

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. race — a contest
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cue — a hint
  7. field — farmland
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. key — the most important part
  10. mine — for digging
  11. race — humankind
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. field — for sport
  14. key — for a lock
  15. club — for dancing
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. key — in music
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cue — for pool
  20. bat — the animal
  21. field — a subject
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mine — belonging to me

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