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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cue — a signal
  4. court — for sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mate — a friend
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. clip — to cut
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — for pool
  13. hand — help
  14. court — of a king
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — clothes
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — a video
  20. court — of law
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mate — a partner

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