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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 124 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stem — to come from
  12. track — a song
  13. game — a match
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pit — in a race
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. pit — a hole
  18. wind — moving air
  19. track — a path
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. track — to keep track
  22. clip — a video
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — for pool

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