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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: cue · jam · squash · ground · field · pitcher · band · kid

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. ground — crushed
  4. field — for sport
  5. cue — for pool
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. field — farmland
  9. cue — a hint
  10. squash — to crush
  11. band — a music group
  12. ground — a position
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ground — the earth
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cue — a signal
  22. kid — child
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. kid — to tease

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