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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 116 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: clip · racket · board · drill · pass · cold · cue · hand

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cue — a hint
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cue — a signal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. hand — in cards
  9. clip — to cut
  10. hand — help
  11. clip — a video
  12. drill — army training
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pass — a permit
  16. board — to get on
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cold — an illness

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