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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 120 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: fine · wind · row · squash · hide · cue · content · pitch

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. squash — the sport
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. row — a line
  8. content — the amount
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cue — a signal
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cue — for pool
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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