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

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a signal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cue — a hint
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. clip — a video
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. kid — child
  18. wound — an injury

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