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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 120 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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. squash — the sport
  3. race — a contest
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. march — the month
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a signal
  10. prune — to trim
  11. march — the month
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. march — music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. race — humankind
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. race — the arms race
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. wound — an injury

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