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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cue — for pool
  3. spring — of water
  4. wind — moving air
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wind — moving air
  7. swing — music
  8. ground — the earth
  9. swing — to play on
  10. staff — a stick
  11. ground — crushed
  12. staff — employees
  13. row — a line
  14. ground — a position
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. cue — a hint
  19. staff — employees
  20. swing — in golf
  21. spring — a coil
  22. land — a country
  23. spring — the season
  24. cue — a signal

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