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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: mate · last · cue · wind · fine · present · wound · racket

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wound — an injury
  7. last — finally
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. last — to go on
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cue — for pool
  13. fine — all right
  14. present — the time now
  15. wind — moving air
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. cue — a signal
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. present — there
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. present — a gift
  24. mate — a partner

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