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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 · ground · fork · chair · spring · pitcher · club · sharp

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. spring — the season
  3. club — for golf
  4. chair — a leader
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spring — of water
  7. fork — in a road
  8. club — a group
  9. cue — for pool
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. ground — a position
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cue — a signal
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. ground — the earth
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. club — for dancing
  19. ground — crushed
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — to sit on

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