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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. cue — for pool
  3. snap — to click
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cue — a signal
  8. firm — decided
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cue — a hint
  11. scale — in music
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. tube — the underground
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — steady
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mine — for digging
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. tube — a container
  24. clip — to cut

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