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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 · squash · cue · ground · coach · pop · mark · land

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cue — a hint
  6. land — a country
  7. cue — for pool
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. land — to come down
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pop — soda
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cue — a signal
  14. squash — the sport
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. land — ground
  19. mark — a trace
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pop — music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mark — a grade
  24. ground — the earth

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