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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cue — for pool
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. spring — a coil
  6. net — after costs
  7. cue — a hint
  8. spring — the season
  9. wound — an injury
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cue — a signal
  12. lean — thin
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mine — for digging
  15. net — in sport
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. spring — of water
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. net — for catching

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