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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: field · cue · rash · squash · pound · stick · sharp · kid

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cue — for pool
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cue — a hint
  8. field — a subject
  9. sharp — clever
  10. pound — a weight
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cue — a signal
  13. squash — to crush
  14. field — for sport
  15. squash — the sport
  16. rash — a series
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rash — hasty
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. field — farmland

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