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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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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: rule · clip · cue · object · ball · perch · march · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. march — the month
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. march — music
  7. rule — a law
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. perch — the fish
  11. object — to protest
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. rule — government
  15. clip — a video
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. march — the month
  18. object — a thing
  19. clip — for paper
  20. object — an aim
  21. cue — a hint
  22. clip — to cut
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. ball — a round shape

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