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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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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: cue · suit · last · land · coach · tube · spring · dip

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. land — ground
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. spring — a coil
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. spring — the season
  10. suit — in cards
  11. land — to come down
  12. cue — a signal
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. suit — to fit
  17. land — a country
  18. tube — the underground
  19. cue — a hint
  20. suit — clothes
  21. dip — to sink
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cue — for pool
  24. last — finally

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