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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cue — a signal
  3. clip — a video
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. content — happy
  6. current — of water
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cell — a phone
  9. spell — a short time
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cue — a hint
  12. spell — magic
  13. row — to paddle
  14. content — the amount
  15. current — electric
  16. spell — letters
  17. object — an aim
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cue — for pool
  20. row — a line
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — to protest
  23. clip — to cut
  24. current — happening now

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