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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: land · wound · rest · clip · mouse · pitch · cue · wake

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rest — a break
  3. land — to come down
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wake — a trail
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. rest — what's left
  14. clip — a video
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — a signal
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. land — a country
  19. cue — for pool
  20. pitch — completely
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. land — ground
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. wound — an injury

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