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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. net — for catching
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cue — a signal
  10. bank — for money
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cold — not warm
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. fall — the season
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fall — to drop
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bank — for money
  23. clip — a video
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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