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

Word bank: cue · racket · chair · season · stick · race

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. season — of the year
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — a hint
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. race — a contest
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cue — for pool
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. season — in sport
  18. race — humankind

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