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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: spring · kick · hide · last · bear · wind · cue · race

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kick — in football
  5. bear — the animal
  6. race — a contest
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. last — to go on
  9. spring — a coil
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. cue — for pool
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. cue — a hint
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bear — the animal

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