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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pop — music
  3. chip — for betting
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wind — moving air
  7. track — a song
  8. cue — a hint
  9. track — a path
  10. pop — to visit
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chip — to eat
  14. tear — from crying
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. tear — to rip
  17. track — to keep track
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pop — soda
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cue — for pool

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