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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: mug · shower · wind · clip · pound · mate · hand · cue

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cue — a signal
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. mug — to rob
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. mate — a friend
  8. shower — to wash
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. shower — rain
  11. hand — help
  12. mate — to breed
  13. hand — in cards
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — for pool
  20. mug — a face
  21. clip — for paper
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mate — a partner
  24. pound — a weight

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