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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. suit — in cards
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bass — low music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cue — for pool
  9. tear — to rip
  10. track — to keep track
  11. tear — from crying
  12. key — in music
  13. suit — clothes
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. clip — for paper
  16. track — a path
  17. clip — a video
  18. track — a song
  19. suit — to fit
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cue — a hint

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