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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. cue — for pool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. field — for sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cue — a signal
  10. field — farmland
  11. mug — a face
  12. cue — a hint
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mug — to rob
  15. field — a subject
  16. mug — a cup
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chair — a leader
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. wind — to turn a key

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