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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 120 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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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: ground · cold · rush · cue · bay · band

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — an illness
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rush — hurry
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. band — a music group

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