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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: clip · content · cue · roll · tear · kick · bat · pop

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tear — to rip
  5. clip — for paper
  6. tear — from crying
  7. roll — a cake
  8. pop — soda
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pop — to visit
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cue — a hint
  13. pop — music
  14. content — the amount
  15. roll — a list
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cue — for pool
  18. content — happy
  19. tear — from crying
  20. clip — a video
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bat — the animal
  23. kick — in football
  24. cue — a signal

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