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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: staff · mark · race · wind · file · ground · bay · cue

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. cue — a signal
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. race — the arms race
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. staff — employees
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. cue — a hint
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mark — a trace
  14. staff — a stick
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. mark — a grade
  18. staff — employees
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. file — a tool

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