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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bore — to tire
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. key — for a lock
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bass — low music
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. kick — in football
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cue — a hint
  15. bass — the fish
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. key — the most important part
  18. clip — to cut
  19. key — in music
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. clip — a video

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