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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: jam · ground · race · game · fan · hand · cue · row

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. ground — the earth
  3. race — humankind
  4. hand — in cards
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. game — wild animals
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. ground — crushed
  11. hand — help
  12. ground — a position
  13. row — a line
  14. cue — for pool
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. race — a contest
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. cue — a signal
  22. game — a match
  23. race — the arms race
  24. row — a quarrel

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