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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · club · net · cue · chair · field

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. net — for catching
  5. club — for dancing
  6. chair — a leader
  7. field — farmland
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — for pool
  17. field — for sport
  18. cell — in biology

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