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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. craft — boats
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. track — a song
  10. cue — for pool
  11. clip — a video
  12. bore — to drill
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spring — of water
  15. craft — a skill
  16. cue — a signal
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bore — to tire
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. track — a path
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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