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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 120 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
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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: racket · can · chair · cold · wound · dip · mine · cue

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. dip — to sink
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. mine — for digging
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wound — an injury
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. can — a tin
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. can — a tin

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