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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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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: mug · kid · chair · cue · spell · fine · march · wound

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. kid — child
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. spell — a short time
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. march — music
  10. chair — a leader
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. mug — a cup
  15. march — the month
  16. mug — to rob
  17. spell — magic
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mug — a face
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. cue — a signal
  23. spell — letters
  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