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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: game · suit · track · field · wound · cue · squash · object

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. game — wild animals
  3. field — a subject
  4. suit — to fit
  5. game — a match
  6. track — to keep track
  7. cue — for pool
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. object — to protest
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. track — a path
  15. field — for sport
  16. suit — clothes
  17. field — farmland
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. object — an aim
  21. wound — an injury
  22. squash — to crush
  23. track — a song
  24. object — a thing

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