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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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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 · patient · rash · saw · board · cue

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wind — moving air
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cue — for pool
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a committee
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cue — a hint

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