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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. cue — a signal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. suit — in cards
  5. clip — a video
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. clip — for paper
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chest — a box
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. shower — rain
  13. lean — thin
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. cue — a hint
  16. clip — to cut
  17. suit — clothes
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. kick — in football
  20. chest — of your body
  21. suit — to fit
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cue — for pool
  24. leaves — to go away

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