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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cue — a signal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. firm — a company
  10. cell — in biology
  11. clip — a video
  12. cell — a phone
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pit — a hole
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. pit — in a race
  18. prune — to trim
  19. firm — steady
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. firm — decided
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. prune — to trim

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