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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 116 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: kick · cue · cabinet · band · last · ball · clip · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. last — final
  3. band — a ring
  4. rest — what's left
  5. band — a music group
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rest — a break
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. cue — a hint
  12. last — to go on
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. ball — a dance
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. last — finally
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. ball — a great time
  21. clip — a video
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. kick — in football

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