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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: fall · snap · hand · key · bass · cold · cap · cue

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cue — for pool
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cap — a lid
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — low music
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cue — a hint
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cap — of ice
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. fall — the season
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cap — a hat
  20. hand — in cards
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. key — the most important part
  24. hand — help

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