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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.

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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: wind · chair · pitch · mouse · march · squash · cue · band

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cue — a hint
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pitch — completely
  6. chair — a leader
  7. march — music
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. band — a ring
  10. squash — to crush
  11. cue — for pool
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cue — a signal
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. band — a music group
  21. squash — the sport
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. march — the month

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