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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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. chair — a leader
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. squash — the sport
  10. hand — help
  11. cue — a hint
  12. squash — to crush
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — for pool
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. kid — child
  24. track — to keep track

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