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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 116 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: cold · cue · bay · clip · bank · saw · chair · content

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. content — the amount
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bank — for money
  12. cue — for pool
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. content — happy
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bank — for money
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. saw — the tool
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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