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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: cue · mouse · track · game · saw · court · last · race

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. race — humankind
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cue — a signal
  8. game — wild animals
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cue — a hint
  11. last — to go on
  12. track — a song
  13. last — final
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. court — of law
  16. track — a path
  17. last — finally
  18. cue — for pool
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. race — a contest
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. saw — the tool
  23. race — the arms race
  24. saw — the 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