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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bound — tied together
  3. clip — for paper
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. shower — to wash
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. shower — rain
  9. hand — help
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cue — a signal
  12. bound — certain
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wind — moving air
  15. charge — in control
  16. clip — a video
  17. charge — a price
  18. bound — obliged
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cue — a hint
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cue — for pool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. charge — electricity

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