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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — to rob
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. key — the most important part
  7. cold — an illness
  8. clip — a video
  9. cue — for pool
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. cold — not warm
  12. key — for a lock
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rash — a series
  16. net — after costs
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — a hint
  19. mug — a face
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. rash — hasty
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cold — the Cold War

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