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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: hand · clip · cue · mark · last · kick · fine · suit

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. suit — in cards
  3. last — to go on
  4. suit — clothes
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. suit — to fit
  7. hand — help
  8. last — finally
  9. fine — all right
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. clip — a video
  12. last — final
  13. cue — a hint
  14. fine — high quality
  15. hand — in cards
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. clip — for paper
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — for pool

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