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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. content — the amount
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. kick — in football
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — a signal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cue — for pool
  13. stand — to bear
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stand — on your feet

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