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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · row · safe · clip · band · track · mine · cue

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. band — a music group
  3. track — a path
  4. row — a line
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. track — a song
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. clip — to cut
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. track — to keep track
  14. court — of a king
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. court — for sport
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. court — of law
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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