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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: clip · mate · tear · last · scale · cue · chair · roll

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. roll — a cake
  4. roll — a list
  5. scale — size or range
  6. cue — a hint
  7. tear — from crying
  8. last — final
  9. mate — a partner
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mate — to breed
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. mate — a friend
  14. scale — in music
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cue — for pool
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. clip — for paper
  19. last — finally
  20. clip — to cut
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cue — a signal
  23. last — to go on
  24. clip — a video

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