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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · firm · bowl · row · cue · kid

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cue — for pool
  3. firm — decided
  4. firm — steady
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. kid — child
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — a hint
  11. row — to paddle
  12. kid — to tease
  13. firm — a company
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. row — a line
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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