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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: rest · cap · wind · bulb · cue · clip · foot · perch

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. clip — to cut
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rest — a break
  14. cue — for pool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — for light
  21. perch — the fish
  22. clip — a video
  23. cap — of ice
  24. perch — for a bird

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