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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: nail · arm · mate · field · cue · temple · wind · kick

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. wind — moving air
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. field — for sport
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. mate — a friend
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mate — to breed
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. field — a subject
  18. cue — for pool
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. field — farmland
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wind — moving air
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kick — in football

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