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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. band — a ring
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. squash — the sport
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. squash — to crush
  16. clip — a video
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. band — a music group
  20. bark — to shout
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cue — for pool
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. band — a rubber band

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