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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cue — a hint
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cell — in biology
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cue — for pool
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. pop — music
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — to visit
  14. snap — to click
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. chip — for betting
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cue — a signal
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. chip — to eat

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