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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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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: fall · kid · cue · rock · bark · mine · clip · fan

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. rock — music
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fall — to drop
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. fall — the season
  11. clip — a video
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. cue — a signal
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — for pool
  22. fall — to drop
  23. clip — for paper
  24. kid — to tease

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