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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: wake · cue · ground · club · wind · net · mine · cap

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cap — a lid
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cue — a signal
  5. club — for golf
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. net — in sport
  13. cue — a hint
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cap — a hat
  16. ground — crushed
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. ground — the earth
  19. club — a group
  20. cap — of ice
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. cue — for pool

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