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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 120 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: chip · rock · content · rash · bark · cue · wind · season

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rock — music
  3. cue — a signal
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wind — moving air
  7. season — of the year
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. content — the amount
  12. cue — a hint
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. content — happy
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. rock — a stone
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. cue — for pool
  24. season — in sport

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