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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. clip — a video
  5. cue — a signal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. clip — to cut
  8. row — to paddle
  9. sharp — clever
  10. court — of law
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. court — for sport
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wound — an injury
  19. court — of a king
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. row — a line
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cue — for pool

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