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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. fall — to drop
  4. current — of water
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cue — for pool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cue — a hint
  15. clip — a video
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. current — electric
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. fall — the season
  20. current — happening now
  21. rash — hasty
  22. stock — goods
  23. rash — a series
  24. swing — to play on

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