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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 120 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. clip — a video
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. capital — a city
  6. cell — a phone
  7. capital — money
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rash — a series
  10. cue — for pool
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. rash — hasty
  13. cell — in biology
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. current — of water
  18. fall — the season
  19. clip — for paper
  20. current — electric
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. clip — to cut
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. current — happening now

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