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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: leaves · clip · cue · firm · suit · roll · mine · capital

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. mine — for digging
  3. capital — a city
  4. suit — in cards
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cue — a signal
  7. suit — clothes
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. clip — for paper
  10. roll — a cake
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. clip — a video
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. firm — decided
  15. suit — to fit
  16. roll — a list
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. capital — money
  20. cue — for pool
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. firm — steady
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. firm — a company

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