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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. last — to go on
  7. cue — a signal
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. clip — a video
  11. last — final
  12. branch — a division
  13. last — finally
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cue — a hint
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wake — a trail
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cue — for pool

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