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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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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: court · chip · cold · file · mouse · cue · row · trunk

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. court — of a king
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cue — for pool
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. court — of law
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. chip — to eat
  14. cue — a hint
  15. court — for sport
  16. file — a tool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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