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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: object · cue · wind · land · pop · spring · net · firm

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. spring — of water
  3. land — to come down
  4. firm — steady
  5. spring — a coil
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — a thing
  8. cue — a hint
  9. firm — decided
  10. cue — for pool
  11. object — an aim
  12. firm — a company
  13. cue — a signal
  14. net — in sport
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. pop — music
  21. spring — the season
  22. net — for catching
  23. pop — soda
  24. net — after costs

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