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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. court — of a king
  5. clip — for paper
  6. court — of law
  7. chest — a box
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. court — for sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cue — a hint
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. prune — to trim
  17. vault — a safe
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. chest — of your body
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. clip — a video

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