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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cue — for pool
  4. spring — the season
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. spring — of water
  11. clip — a video
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cue — a signal
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. spell — letters
  20. cue — a hint
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. spell — a short time
  23. rash — hasty
  24. spell — magic

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