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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: club · wind · drill · suit · cue · cap · wound · file

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. file — a tool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cue — for pool
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cue — a signal
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cap — a hat
  9. club — for golf
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. drill — army training
  12. wind — moving air
  13. suit — clothes
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wound — an injury
  16. file — a document
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. club — a group
  22. suit — to fit
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cap — of ice

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