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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 · wind · shower · present · firm · arm · last · field

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. field — for sport
  3. firm — a company
  4. shower — rain
  5. field — a subject
  6. wind — moving air
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. firm — decided
  10. firm — steady
  11. field — farmland
  12. cue — a signal
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. last — to go on
  21. cue — for pool
  22. last — finally
  23. present — there
  24. last — final

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