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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: sharp · cue · fall · wind · wound · roll · racket · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. roll — a cake
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cue — for pool
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — to drop
  8. roll — a list
  9. fall — the season
  10. cue — a signal
  11. land — ground
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. land — to come down
  16. wound — an injury
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cue — a hint
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wind — to turn a key

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