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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: hide · band · wind · fork · wound · cue · deal · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. cue — a signal
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wind — moving air
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — to handle
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. cue — for pool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cue — a hint
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a rubber band

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