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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. spring — of water
  4. band — a music group
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. clip — a video
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bank — for money
  9. spring — the season
  10. tear — to rip
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cue — for pool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bank — of a river
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. band — a ring
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bank — for money
  23. dip — to sink
  24. mark — a grade

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