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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. land — to come down
  3. cue — a signal
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cue — for pool
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. present — a gift
  11. land — ground
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. land — a country
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. present — the time now
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. club — for golf
  24. fork — in a road

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