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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. clip — a video
  3. court — of law
  4. cue — a signal
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bore — to tire
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. wind — moving air
  9. court — for sport
  10. cue — for pool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bore — to drill
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. court — of a king
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. pitcher — a jug

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