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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: chair · cue · stand · season · mark · kick · clip · racket

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. season — of the year
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. season — in sport
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. cue — a hint
  8. mark — a trace
  9. clip — a video
  10. cue — a signal
  11. clip — for paper
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. stand — to bear
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. kick — in football
  21. cue — for pool
  22. mark — a grade
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. racket — for tennis

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