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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bound — tied together
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cue — a signal
  7. branch — a division
  8. court — of law
  9. wind — moving air
  10. court — for sport
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bound — obliged
  14. cold — not warm
  15. court — of a king
  16. bound — certain
  17. kid — child
  18. wind — moving air
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cue — a hint
  24. nail — on a finger

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