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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 120 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: clip · sharp · hand · wound · pop · cue · suit · land

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. suit — to fit
  3. pop — soda
  4. clip — for paper
  5. suit — in cards
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. suit — clothes
  8. land — a country
  9. pop — music
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wound — an injury
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pop — to visit
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cue — for pool
  18. land — ground
  19. hand — help
  20. clip — a video
  21. cue — a hint
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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