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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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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: shower · cue · ruler · stand · chair · clip · spell · kid

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cue — a hint
  5. spell — magic
  6. stand — to bear
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. clip — a video
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a signal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. spell — letters
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. shower — rain
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. spell — a short time

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