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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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Word bank
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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: clip · mug · pound · cue · content · club

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mug — a cup
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. club — for dancing
  6. cue — a signal
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cue — for pool
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. mug — a face
  11. club — for golf
  12. clip — a video
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cue — a hint
  15. content — the amount
  16. mug — to rob
  17. clip — for paper
  18. club — a group

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