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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. game — wild animals
  7. clip — a video
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. cue — for pool
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. dip — to sink
  13. cell — a phone
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cue — a hint
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pit — in a race
  24. game — a match

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