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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: swing · clip · hand · cue · fine · tear · toast · dip

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cue — a signal
  3. clip — to cut
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. swing — to play on
  6. clip — for paper
  7. swing — music
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. tear — to rip
  10. swing — in golf
  11. dip — to sink
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cue — a hint
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. hand — in cards
  17. cue — for pool
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. fine — all right
  20. clip — a video
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fine — high quality
  24. toast — bread

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