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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. field — for sport
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rest — what's left
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cue — for pool
  7. field — a subject
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cue — a signal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. field — farmland
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cue — a hint
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. squash — to crush
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hand — help
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rest — a break

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