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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. clip — to cut
  3. march — the month
  4. cue — a signal
  5. march — the month
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. lean — thin
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. march — music
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. clip — for paper
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. clip — a video
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cue — a hint
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cue — for pool
  21. can — a tin
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. game — wild animals

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