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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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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 · drill · bowl · wind · wound · last · staff · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cue — for pool
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. fork — in a road
  6. drill — army training
  7. staff — employees
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wind — moving air
  10. last — final
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. drill — a practice
  14. last — to go on
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. last — finally
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. cue — a signal
  23. drill — the tool
  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