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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: lash · wax · cue · pound · wind · chair · wound · rule

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. rule — government
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wax — to grow
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cue — a hint
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pound — a weight
  20. rule — a law
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. cue — for pool

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