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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bound — obliged
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cue — a signal
  8. hand — help
  9. root — of a word
  10. suit — in cards
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. root — of a plant
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bound — tied together
  15. root — the cause
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bound — certain
  19. clip — for paper
  20. suit — clothes
  21. cue — a hint
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. suit — to fit
  24. clip — a video

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