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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. game — a match
  3. hand — in cards
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. squash — the sport
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. last — finally
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — to bear
  11. kid — child
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. last — to go on
  14. hand — help
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chair — a leader
  20. last — final
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. squash — to crush
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. can — a tin

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