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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. charge — in control
  7. capital — a city
  8. charge — a price
  9. track — a song
  10. dip — to sink
  11. charge — electricity
  12. clip — for paper
  13. track — a path
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. cell — a phone
  16. clip — a video
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cue — for pool
  20. capital — money
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. clip — to cut
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. track — to keep track

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