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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: file · wind · cold · ball · cue · swing · pop · chest

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. swing — music
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cue — for pool
  9. ball — a great time
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wind — moving air
  12. swing — to play on
  13. file — a tool
  14. pop — soda
  15. cue — a signal
  16. swing — in golf
  17. ball — a dance
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. file — a line of people
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wind — moving air

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