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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. cue — a hint
  3. wind — moving air
  4. vault — a safe
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cue — for pool
  7. clip — a video
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. race — the arms race
  10. kid — child
  11. field — for sport
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. kid — to tease
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cue — a signal
  17. field — a subject
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — humankind
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. field — farmland
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wind — moving air

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