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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: toast · mate · clip · cue · foot · shower · fall · roll

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. toast — bread
  6. clip — to cut
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — a cake
  9. cue — a signal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — for pool
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. fall — the season
  16. mate — to breed
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. clip — a video
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. shower — rain

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