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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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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: spring · cue · band · row · net · wound · mark · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — a trace
  6. wound — an injury
  7. band — a ring
  8. cue — a hint
  9. net — after costs
  10. spring — the season
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. row — a line
  14. net — for catching
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cue — for pool
  17. spring — a coil
  18. net — in sport
  19. band — a music group
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spring — of water
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cue — a signal

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