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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: cue · craft · stock · tear · wind · spell

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. tear — to rip
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spell — magic
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stock — goods
  13. cue — for pool
  14. spell — letters
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stock — shares
  17. spell — a short time
  18. craft — boats

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