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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. clip — to cut
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cue — a signal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cue — for pool
  13. content — happy
  14. stock — goods
  15. band — a ring
  16. spell — letters
  17. band — a music group
  18. content — the amount
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. clip — a video
  23. spell — magic
  24. stock — shares

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