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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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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: pit · chair · swing · cue · clip · plane · net · tear

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. cue — a hint
  2. swing — in golf
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. pit — in a race
  5. tear — to rip
  6. clip — for paper
  7. net — for catching
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cue — for pool
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. net — after costs
  13. tear — from crying
  14. swing — music
  15. plane — a tool
  16. net — in sport
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. tear — from crying
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cue — a signal
  23. chair — a leader
  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