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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: rush · scale · wound · cue · cell · rock · spring · clip

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cue — a signal
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spring — a coil
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cell — in biology
  11. scale — size or range
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rock — a stone
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rock — music
  20. spring — the season
  21. clip — a video
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cue — for pool
  24. scale — in music

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