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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: bat · band · rest · squash · cue · wake · board · mark

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. squash — to crush
  6. cue — for pool
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. board — a committee
  10. cue — a hint
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. mark — a grade
  16. band — a music group
  17. board — to get on
  18. band — a ring
  19. wake — a trail
  20. rest — what's left
  21. squash — the sport
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bat — the animal
  24. board — a flat piece

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