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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: mark · bay · last · season · bank · chip · cue · clip

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. chip — to eat
  4. cue — a signal
  5. last — to go on
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — for betting
  13. last — final
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bank — for money
  17. clip — a video
  18. season — in sport
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. cue — for pool
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bank — for money

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