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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: mark · last · fine · cue · chest · object · clip · fan

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. last — final
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cue — for pool
  7. fine — high quality
  8. last — to go on
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mark — a trace
  14. clip — a video
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. object — an aim
  17. object — to protest
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. object — a thing
  21. mark — a grade
  22. chest — a box
  23. last — finally
  24. chest — of your body

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