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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 116 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: wind · firm · bowl · row · cue · kid · stick · file

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. file — a tool
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. file — a document
  10. firm — steady
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a signal
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cue — a hint
  18. kid — child
  19. firm — decided
  20. firm — a company
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. file — a line of people

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