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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.

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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 · cabinet · mine · bat · chip · swing · row · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. chip — for betting
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rest — a break
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cue — a signal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chip — to eat
  15. rest — what's left
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — music
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. chip — in a computer
  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