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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. hand — in cards
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cue — for pool
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. cue — a signal
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cell — in biology
  24. hand — help

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