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

Word bank: row · cue · bass · kick · toast · spring · wind · mate

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bass — low music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. spring — of water
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cue — for pool
  12. kick — in football
  13. mate — to breed
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. row — a line
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. wind — moving air
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cue — a hint
  22. spring — the season
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bass — the fish

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