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

Word bank: key · chest · bark · cap · field · cue · cell · pass

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. key — in music
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bark — to shout
  8. field — for sport
  9. chest — a box
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cell — in biology
  12. field — farmland
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. field — a subject
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — a hat
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — a permit
  23. key — for a lock
  24. cue — a signal

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