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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · hand · spell · rule · cue · mark · dip · clip

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. spell — a short time
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. hand — help
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. spell — magic
  9. clip — to cut
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. mark — a trace
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. hand — in cards
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mark — a grade
  16. cue — a signal
  17. rule — government
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. cue — for pool
  20. clip — a video
  21. dip — to sink
  22. spell — letters
  23. cold — an illness
  24. hand — part of the body

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