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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bore — to tire
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. clip — for paper
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. board — a committee
  8. clip — a video
  9. season — in sport
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. season — of the year
  13. cue — a hint
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. suit — clothes
  17. board — to get on
  18. clip — to cut
  19. suit — in cards
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cue — for pool
  23. bore — to drill
  24. suit — to fit

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