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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 · wake · tube · net · mine · pop · row · object

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wake — a trail
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. net — for catching
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. pop — to visit
  9. object — an aim
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. tube — a container
  14. cue — for pool
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. net — in sport
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. object — a thing
  21. cue — a hint
  22. object — to protest
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wake — before a funeral

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