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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — to tire
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. last — to go on
  8. pass — a permit
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. cue — a hint
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. bore — to drill
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. last — final
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. clip — a video
  22. last — finally
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. cue — for pool

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