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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — a signal
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bulb — for light
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. swing — music
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rock — music
  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