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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: cue · wind · field · date · last · stick · dip · ground

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — for pool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — a subject
  5. dip — to sink
  6. field — for sport
  7. ground — a position
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. last — final
  10. ground — crushed
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — the earth
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. last — finally
  18. cue — a hint
  19. date — the fruit
  20. field — farmland
  21. last — to go on
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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