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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. file — a tool
  4. chair — a leader
  5. board — a committee
  6. field — farmland
  7. rash — a series
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cue — a hint
  10. squash — to crush
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cue — a signal
  15. field — for sport
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. board — to get on
  18. field — a subject
  19. cue — for pool
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — steady
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. firm — a company

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