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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 116 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 · rule · band · sharp · last · kick · pitcher · cue

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — a law
  3. last — finally
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cue — for pool
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cue — a signal
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. last — to go on
  16. kick — in football
  17. rule — government
  18. cue — a hint
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. last — final
  24. sharp — exactly

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