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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. clip — a video
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pop — music
  7. cue — a hint
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cue — a signal
  10. pop — to visit
  11. club — for golf
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pop — soda
  17. cold — not warm
  18. club — for dancing
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. club — a group

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