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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chest — of your body
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cue — for pool
  6. dip — to sink
  7. mark — a trace
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cue — a hint
  12. clip — to cut
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. capital — a city
  15. clip — a video
  16. chest — a box
  17. cue — a signal
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. capital — money
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. mark — a grade

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