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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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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: cold · hand · mate · press · chair · cue · wound · fine

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. mate — to breed
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. press — to push
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fine — all right
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cue — a signal
  12. hand — help
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fine — high quality
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cue — a hint
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. mate — a friend
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mate — a partner
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. press — a publisher

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