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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 120 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. current — electric
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. clip — to cut
  6. kick — in football
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. current — happening now
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. clip — for paper
  13. snap — to click
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. clip — a video
  17. stock — goods
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. current — of water
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cue — for pool
  23. stock — shares
  24. spell — magic

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