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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. tube — the underground
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cue — a signal
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. band — a music group
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. band — a ring
  17. cue — for pool
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. squash — the sport
  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