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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: roll · sharp · rush · land · clip · mug · cue · fall

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. mug — to rob
  4. land — a country
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. roll — a list
  7. clip — to cut
  8. land — to come down
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. rush — hurry
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. land — ground
  14. fall — to drop
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cue — a signal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cue — a hint
  19. mug — a face
  20. mug — a cup
  21. cue — for pool
  22. clip — a video
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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