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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 116 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: kid · cold · swing · wake · chair · bay · wound · cue

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. cue — a hint
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a signal
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. cold — an illness
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. swing — to play on
  20. kid — child
  21. swing — music
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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