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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 · cue · lash · file · face · cold · game · current

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. game — a match
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. cue — a hint
  4. face — to confront
  5. current — electric
  6. cold — not warm
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cue — a signal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. file — a document
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. current — happening now
  16. cue — for pool
  17. face — to point toward
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. file — a line of people
  20. current — of water
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  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