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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cue — for pool
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. pass — a permit
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. mate — a partner
  13. clip — a video
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. hand — help
  16. cell — a phone
  17. season — in sport
  18. branch — a division
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — a hint
  24. pass — to succeed

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