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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 116 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. club — for dancing
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cue — for pool
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. clip — a video
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. club — a group
  11. net — in sport
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. club — for golf
  15. clip — for paper
  16. saw — the tool
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. net — for catching
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cue — a hint
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. net — after costs
  24. clip — to cut

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