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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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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: game · tube · mark · squash · hand · racket · rule · foot

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. squash — the sport
  4. hand — help
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. rule — government
  9. tube — the underground
  10. game — a match
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. rule — a law
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tube — a container
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — in cards
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. racket — for tennis

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