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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: cue · jam · clip · pitch · club · temple · root · net

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. pitch — completely
  3. clip — to cut
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. net — for catching
  7. root — of a plant
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. clip — for paper
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. cue — for pool
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. club — for golf
  14. root — the cause
  15. club — a group
  16. net — after costs
  17. cue — a signal
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. clip — a video
  21. net — in sport
  22. root — of a word
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. temple — a place of worship

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