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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: squash · chest · court · cue · chip · perch · tear · fall

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cue — a signal
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — for sport
  7. cue — a hint
  8. chip — for betting
  9. court — of law
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cue — for pool
  12. perch — the fish
  13. fall — the season
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chip — to eat
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. tear — to rip
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. court — of a king
  24. tear — from crying

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