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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bulb — for light
  4. hand — help
  5. march — the month
  6. bulb — for light
  7. clip — a video
  8. fall — to drop
  9. hand — in cards
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. clip — for paper
  14. march — music
  15. cue — for pool
  16. band — a music group
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. band — a ring
  22. clip — to cut
  23. march — the month
  24. cue — a signal

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