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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cue — a hint
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pass — a permit
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cue — for pool
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. kid — child
  11. hand — help
  12. wax — to grow
  13. clip — to cut
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cue — a signal
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stock — goods
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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