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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bore — to tire
  5. key — the most important part
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. cue — for pool
  9. net — in sport
  10. key — for a lock
  11. clip — to cut
  12. net — after costs
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. rush — hurry
  16. key — in music
  17. last — finally
  18. clip — a video
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — music
  21. clip — for paper
  22. net — for catching
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. cue — a hint

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