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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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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: lash · file · spring · cue · wind · game · chair · last

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  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 — wild animals
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — finally
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cue — a signal
  6. last — final
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. last — to go on
  9. game — a match
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. file — a document
  12. spring — of water
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cue — a hint
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. file — a line of people
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cue — for pool
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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