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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. wind — moving air
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cue — for pool
  7. pop — soda
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fine — all right
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cue — a hint
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fine — high quality
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cue — a signal
  19. snap — to click
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. cell — in a prison

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