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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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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: club · saw · cue · bark · cold · object · present · mark

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cue — a signal
  5. club — for golf
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bark — to shout
  8. present — a gift
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cold — not warm
  13. object — a thing
  14. present — the time now
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mark — a grade
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cue — for pool
  20. present — there
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — an aim

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