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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. cue — a signal
  3. last — final
  4. charge — electricity
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — obliged
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bound — certain
  13. clip — a video
  14. last — to go on
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. last — finally
  20. mark — a trace
  21. charge — a price
  22. mark — a grade
  23. charge — in control
  24. mark — to pay attention

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