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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. squash — the sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. court — of a king
  8. file — a document
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. file — a line of people
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — a signal
  15. pit — in a race
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. court — of law
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. court — for sport
  21. pit — a hole
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. file — a tool

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