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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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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: cue · rule · bass · field · club · chair · tear · arm

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bass — low music
  3. club — for dancing
  4. rule — government
  5. cue — for pool
  6. rule — a law
  7. club — for golf
  8. chair — a leader
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. field — farmland
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. field — a subject
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bass — the fish
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. club — a group
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. tear — to rip

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