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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: cue · march · bowl · wind · file · object · last · kid

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. object — a thing
  3. cue — a hint
  4. march — the month
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. object — an aim
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. object — to protest
  9. last — to go on
  10. march — the month
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wind — moving air
  13. march — music
  14. last — final
  15. kid — child
  16. cue — for pool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. last — finally
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wind — moving air
  21. file — a tool
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. file — a document
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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