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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: wake · ruler · wind · club · chest · rest · clip · cue

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wake — a trail
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cue — a signal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cue — a hint
  10. rest — a break
  11. club — for golf
  12. clip — a video
  13. cue — for pool
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chest — a box
  16. rest — what's left
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wind — moving air
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — a group
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ruler — for measuring

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