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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: craft · pop · capital · straw · wind · band · swing · cue

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. capital — money
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. band — a ring
  6. craft — a skill
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cue — for pool
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pop — soda
  12. swing — to play on
  13. craft — boats
  14. band — a music group
  15. swing — music
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pop — to visit
  18. swing — in golf
  19. pop — music
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. capital — a city
  23. cue — a hint
  24. craft — a handicraft

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