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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cue — for pool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cue — a hint
  8. face — to confront
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. clip — a video
  12. field — a subject
  13. capital — money
  14. field — farmland
  15. face — to point toward
  16. field — for sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. face — part of the head
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. clip — to cut
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cue — a signal
  23. capital — a city
  24. pop — to visit

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