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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cue — for pool
  3. capital — money
  4. firm — decided
  5. game — wild animals
  6. firm — steady
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cue — a hint
  9. land — ground
  10. wind — moving air
  11. track — a song
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. track — to keep track
  14. land — to come down
  15. bat — the animal
  16. game — a match
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. land — a country
  19. cue — a signal
  20. capital — a city
  21. track — a path
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. firm — a company

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