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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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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: wound · mate · cue · bear · kick · date · chair · band

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cue — for pool
  8. wound — an injury
  9. band — a ring
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mate — a partner
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cue — a signal
  17. mate — to breed
  18. kick — in football
  19. date — the fruit
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. mate — a friend
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. band — a music group

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