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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 116 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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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: game · last · drill · rush · cue · wind · content · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — soda
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cue — a signal
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. last — finally
  9. content — the amount
  10. cue — a hint
  11. last — to go on
  12. rush — hurry
  13. content — happy
  14. cue — for pool
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wind — moving air
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. last — final
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pop — to visit
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. drill — the tool

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