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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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Word bank
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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 · bank · land · cue · wave · rash · mate · file

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. land — ground
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. land — to come down
  6. mate — a partner
  7. file — a document
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bank — for money
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. cue — for pool
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — a signal
  18. land — a country
  19. bank — for money
  20. rash — a series
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bank — of a river
  23. mate — to breed
  24. file — a tool

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