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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: bay · content · prune · bat · rush · perch · clip · cue

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. prune — to trim
  6. perch — the fish
  7. cue — a hint
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. content — the amount
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. rush — hurry
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cue — a signal
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. content — happy
  23. cue — for pool
  24. rush — to hurry

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