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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: wind · mark · cue · fall · bay · straw · date · plane

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fall — to drop
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. cue — a hint
  7. mark — a grade
  8. date — the fruit
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. mark — a trace
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cue — a signal
  16. fall — the season
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cue — for pool
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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