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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: date · cue · pitcher · wound · chair · game · bat · cap

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cap — a hat
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wound — an injury
  11. date — the fruit
  12. cap — a lid
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cue — a signal
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. cue — a hint
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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