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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · wind · cue · hand · craft · spring · tube · leaves

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. hand — help
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spring — a coil
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cue — for pool
  11. craft — boats
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. cue — a hint
  15. spring — the season
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. tube — the underground
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — a skill
  20. hand — in cards
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cue — a signal
  24. tube — a container

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