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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: sharp · last · season · straw · wind · tube · pit · cue

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. sharp — clever
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. last — final
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. cue — a hint
  9. pit — in a race
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. tube — the underground
  14. last — to go on
  15. tube — a container
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cue — a signal
  18. wind — moving air
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cue — for pool

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