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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. row — a line
  3. cue — a signal
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cue — a hint
  6. squash — the sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cue — for pool
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. fall — the season
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. row — to paddle
  14. scale — size or range
  15. chair — a leader
  16. ball — a great time
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. fall — to drop
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. branch — a division
  23. fall — to drop
  24. scale — in music

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