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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  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. cue — a hint
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. hand — help
  4. band — a music group
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cue — a signal
  9. stand — to bear
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chest — a box
  14. band — a ring
  15. clip — for paper
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. chest — of your body
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cue — for pool
  20. perch — the fish
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. clip — to cut
  23. foot — a measure
  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