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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 120 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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. present — there
  3. bat — the animal
  4. clip — to cut
  5. spell — magic
  6. dip — to sink
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cue — for pool
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. present — the time now
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. clip — a video
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cue — a signal
  24. present — a gift

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