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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: cold · staff · cue · can · club · band · fan · clip

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. band — a ring
  3. clip — a video
  4. band — a music group
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. club — a group
  8. can — a tin
  9. cue — for pool
  10. staff — employees
  11. can — a tin
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. staff — employees
  16. can — to be able to
  17. club — for dancing
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. clip — to cut
  20. staff — a stick
  21. cue — a hint
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. club — for golf

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