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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pound — a weight
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bass — low music
  13. perch — the fish
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. clip — for paper
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — in sport
  21. cue — a signal
  22. net — for catching
  23. cue — a hint
  24. net — after costs

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