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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: last · cue · court · pit · chair · file · stock · ruler

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. file — a tool
  3. pit — in a race
  4. last — finally
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. court — of law
  8. stock — goods
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. chair — a leader
  11. stock — shares
  12. file — a document
  13. last — final
  14. cue — for pool
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cue — a hint
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. last — to go on
  22. pit — a hole
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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