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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: last · cue · key · court · dip · suit · clip · sharp

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. suit — to fit
  3. last — finally
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. suit — in cards
  8. court — of a king
  9. last — to go on
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. court — of law
  12. cue — a signal
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cue — for pool
  15. sharp — clever
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. clip — a video
  18. key — for a lock
  19. court — for sport
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cue — a hint
  22. last — final
  23. suit — clothes
  24. dip — to dunk

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