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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. ground — a position
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — a signal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — a grade
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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