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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: tube · mine · tear · dip · drill · ground · cue · scale

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. scale — size or range
  3. ground — crushed
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cue — a hint
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ground — a position
  10. scale — in music
  11. drill — the tool
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. tear — to rip
  14. dip — to sink
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cue — for pool
  18. drill — army training
  19. tear — from crying
  20. drill — a practice
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. tube — a container

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