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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: arm · band · wound · cue · craft · coach · clip · ground

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a signal
  3. craft — boats
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ground — crushed
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. clip — for paper
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. band — a ring
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. craft — a skill
  16. ground — a position
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ground — the earth
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. band — a music group
  21. clip — to cut
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. cue — a hint
  24. clip — a video

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