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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. lean — to bend
  7. clip — to cut
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cue — for pool
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cue — a hint
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. clip — a video
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. lean — thin
  24. squash — the vegetable

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