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

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pound — a weight
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — a hint
  8. present — a gift
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. deal — to handle
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wound — an injury
  13. present — the time now
  14. cue — for pool
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. clip — to cut
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wound — an injury
  19. present — there
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. clip — a video
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. prune — to trim

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