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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.

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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 · can · cold · cue · pitcher · kick · prune · wind

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cue — a signal
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. kick — in football
  8. clip — for paper
  9. can — to be able to
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. can — a tin
  12. prune — to trim
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. can — a tin
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cue — a hint
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cue — for pool

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