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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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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: fall · pitcher · race · fork · cue · present · band · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cue — a hint
  3. band — a music group
  4. race — a contest
  5. present — the time now
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. race — the arms race
  8. present — a gift
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — for pool
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fall — the season
  16. fork — in a road
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. band — a ring
  21. race — humankind
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. present — there

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