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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. cue — for pool
  6. staff — employees
  7. clip — to cut
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. last — final
  10. cue — a hint
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. spell — letters
  13. march — music
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. march — the month
  17. clip — a video
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. last — to go on
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. last — finally
  23. march — the month
  24. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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