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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 116 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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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: cold · ground · firm · wind · cue · wave · kid · rule

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. ground — a position
  2. rule — a law
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. kid — child
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. firm — a company
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. firm — steady
  19. rule — government
  20. wind — moving air
  21. firm — decided
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rule — to rule out
  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