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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 120 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 · cue · wind · wound · race · spell · mark · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. spell — a short time
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cue — for pool
  9. spell — magic
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cue — a hint
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cue — a signal
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. spell — letters
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — a trace
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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