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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 120 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. club — a group
  4. root — of a word
  5. capital — a city
  6. clip — to cut
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. cue — a signal
  11. club — for dancing
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. root — of a plant
  15. last — to go on
  16. clip — for paper
  17. root — the cause
  18. bank — for money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. lie — to recline
  21. club — for golf
  22. cue — for pool
  23. clip — a video
  24. capital — money

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