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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. clip — to cut
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. board — to get on
  10. content — the amount
  11. object — an aim
  12. clip — a video
  13. cue — a hint
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. pop — music
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — government
  18. object — to protest
  19. pop — soda
  20. cue — for pool
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pop — to visit
  23. court — of a king
  24. object — a thing

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