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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cue — for pool
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. mine — for digging
  6. court — for sport
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. spell — letters
  10. court — of a king
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — to sink
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. spell — magic
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rash — a series
  17. cue — a hint
  18. deal — to handle
  19. court — of law
  20. spell — a short time
  21. clip — a video
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cue — a signal

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