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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fall — the season
  4. cue — a hint
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cue — for pool
  8. net — after costs
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fall — to drop
  11. net — in sport
  12. bat — the animal
  13. net — for catching
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — all right
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. fine — a penalty

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