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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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Word bank
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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cue — a hint
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — for paper
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cue — a signal
  9. clip — a video
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. content — the amount
  22. wind — moving air
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. sharp — clever

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