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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. capital — money
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. band — a ring
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. capital — a city
  7. band — a music group
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. date — the fruit
  12. snap — to click
  13. cold — an illness
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. branch — a division
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cold — not warm
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cue — for pool
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cue — a signal

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