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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: object · calf · cold · cue · clip · rule · track · wound

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cue — for pool
  5. object — an aim
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cue — a signal
  8. rule — a law
  9. track — a path
  10. cold — not warm
  11. track — a song
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. rule — government
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. wound — an injury
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. object — a thing
  22. track — to keep track
  23. wound — an injury
  24. object — to protest

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