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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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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: wind · bear · ruler · wound · game · last · squash · cue

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cue — a signal
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — to go on
  8. game — a match
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. squash — to crush
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a hint
  16. wound — an injury
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wound — an injury
  24. squash — the vegetable

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