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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: arm · mine · cue · wind · ground · mate · bowl · cap

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. ground — crushed
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. ground — a position
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cap — a hat
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cue — a signal
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. arm — part of the body

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