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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cue — a hint
  5. mine — for digging
  6. band — a music group
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. suit — to fit
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cue — a signal
  12. shower — rain
  13. cue — for pool
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. suit — clothes
  20. cold — an illness
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. cold — not warm

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