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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. game — a match
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. clip — for paper
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. clip — to cut
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. row — a line
  16. cue — a hint
  17. game — wild animals
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cue — for pool
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. deal — to handle
  24. clip — a video

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