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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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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: racket · pit · clip · cold · chair · last · mark · cue

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mark — a grade
  6. clip — a video
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. cue — for pool
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mark — a trace
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chair — a leader
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. last — finally
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cue — a hint

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