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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — for pool
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. lean — thin
  11. spell — a short time
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. fine — high quality
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chair — a leader
  16. lean — to bend
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. cue — a hint

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