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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. rock — music
  4. cue — for pool
  5. clip — for paper
  6. staff — employees
  7. cue — a hint
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — a stone
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bank — of a river
  15. clip — a video
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. kid — child
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bank — for money
  20. staff — a stick
  21. bank — for money
  22. file — a tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. staff — employees

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