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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: wake · game · ruler · wound · chair · file · squash · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. file — a tool
  7. season — in sport
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. squash — the sport
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. season — of the year
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. chair — a leader
  19. wound — an injury
  20. squash — to crush
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wound — an injury

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