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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: present · cold · bay · swing · chest · wind · cue · rest

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — there
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cue — a signal
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. cue — for pool
  14. rest — what's left
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cue — a hint
  21. present — a gift
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. swing — music

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