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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: fan · hide · game · cue · rest · kid · bulb · wind

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cue — for pool
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cue — a signal
  13. kid — child
  14. bulb — for light
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. game — a match
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. rest — a break
  19. bulb — for light
  20. game — wild animals
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. rest — what's left
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. hide — animal skin

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