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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 116 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: row · court · track · hand · squash · wound · mouse · chair

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. court — of a king
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. hand — help
  11. wound — an injury
  12. squash — the sport
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. row — to paddle
  15. squash — to crush
  16. court — for sport
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. chair — a leader
  19. track — to keep track
  20. court — of law
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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