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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: clip · mate · last · ground · mark · cue · net · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. straw — dry grass
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cue — for pool
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — a grade
  9. cue — a hint
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mate — a partner
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. net — for catching
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. clip — a video
  17. net — in sport
  18. mate — a friend
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. net — after costs
  21. ground — a position
  22. last — final
  23. clip — to cut
  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