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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: wind · last · coach · tear · spring · content · kick · cue

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cue — for pool
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. last — finally
  9. content — the amount
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — of water
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. content — happy
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. tear — to rip
  23. last — final
  24. coach — a trainer

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