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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cue — a signal
  7. firm — a company
  8. march — music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. firm — steady
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. cue — a hint
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — in cards
  15. board — a committee
  16. wound — an injury
  17. board — to get on
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cue — for pool
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. march — the month
  22. wind — moving air
  23. firm — decided
  24. hand — part of the body

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