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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. cue — for pool
  3. pound — a weight
  4. cell — in biology
  5. hand — help
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. clip — a video
  8. key — for a lock
  9. cue — a hint
  10. key — in music
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cue — a signal
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. clip — for paper
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. key — the most important part
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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