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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. clip — for paper
  3. prune — to trim
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. scale — in music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cue — a hint
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — high quality
  15. scale — size or range
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fine — all right
  18. swing — to play on
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. swing — in golf
  21. clip — to cut
  22. swing — music
  23. clip — a video
  24. cue — a signal

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