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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. object — to protest
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cold — not warm
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cue — for pool
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — a thing
  22. rule — government
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. rule — a law

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