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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: net · wind · land · cue · fan · pop · pitcher · chair

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cue — a hint
  6. net — for catching
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pop — music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. net — in sport
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. chair — a leader
  15. net — after costs
  16. cue — for pool
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. land — ground
  19. cue — a signal
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. pop — soda
  24. land — to come down

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