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

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wind — moving air
  4. club — a group
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. cue — a signal
  10. last — final
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. club — for golf
  14. deal — to handle
  15. last — to go on
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. last — finally
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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