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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pass · cold · cue · pop · ground · straw

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. 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 hint
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pass — a permit
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cue — a signal
  7. pop — soda
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pop — music
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. ground — a position
  18. 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