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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cue · foot · wind · nail · game · land · file · bat

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — for pool
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — a measure
  11. file — a tool
  12. land — ground
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. land — a country
  15. game — wild animals
  16. file — a line of people
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — to come down
  21. cue — a hint
  22. game — a match
  23. file — a document
  24. bat — the animal

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