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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. clip — a video
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. cue — for pool
  9. clip — to cut
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cue — a hint
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. kick — in football
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tear — from crying

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