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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: cap · cue · mine · straw · sharp · rest · squash · game

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rest — a break
  3. mine — for digging
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cue — for pool
  6. squash — to crush
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cap — a lid
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cap — a hat
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cue — a hint
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cap — of ice
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cue — a signal
  20. rest — what's left
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. game — a match
  24. mine — an explosive

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