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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · hand · squash · calf · file · cue · bat · chest

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cue — a signal
  3. squash — to crush
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. file — a tool
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bat — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. file — a line of people
  13. hand — help
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cue — for pool
  16. rash — a series
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. file — a document
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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