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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: deal · mate · cue · last · court · file · chest · perch

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. file — a tool
  4. mate — a friend
  5. court — for sport
  6. last — finally
  7. chest — of your body
  8. last — to go on
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cue — a hint
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cue — for pool
  13. chest — a box
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. court — of law
  16. mate — to breed
  17. chest — of your body
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cue — a signal
  20. court — of a king
  21. perch — the fish
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. file — a document
  24. last — final

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