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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: chair · swing · cue · mine · rest · ball · chip · bat

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. swing — music
  3. ball — a dance
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cue — a hint
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. swing — to play on
  18. cue — a signal
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rest — a break
  22. chip — for betting
  23. swing — in golf
  24. ball — a great time

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