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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: wake · staff · cue · row · shower · mate · net · drill

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. net — after costs
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cue — a hint
  5. drill — the tool
  6. row — to paddle
  7. drill — a practice
  8. staff — employees
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. row — a line
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cue — for pool
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. mate — a friend
  16. net — for catching
  17. mate — to breed
  18. net — in sport
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — rain
  22. wake — a trail
  23. drill — army training
  24. staff — a stick

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