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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 120 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: bay · capital · cue · clip · chair · cold

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. capital — money
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. clip — a video
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cue — a hint
  11. capital — a city
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. cue — a signal
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. cold — an illness
  18. capital — a big letter

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