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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · clip · rush · drill · wake · cue

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. spring — the season
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cue — for pool
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — the tool
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wake — a trail
  12. spring — of water
  13. drill — army training
  14. rush — hurry
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cue — a hint
  18. clip — a video

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