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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: wake · cue · sharp · net · clip · stem · band · hide

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cue — for pool
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cue — a signal
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wake — a trail
  15. clip — a video
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. net — after costs
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. cue — a hint
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. net — in sport
  23. band — a ring
  24. net — for catching

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