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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. march — the month
  3. dip — to sink
  4. clip — for paper
  5. march — music
  6. cue — for pool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. march — the month
  9. last — to go on
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. clip — a video
  17. wound — an injury
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. net — for catching
  22. cue — a signal
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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