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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: pop · land · dip · roll · spring · cue · firm · cold

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. roll — a list
  6. cue — a hint
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pop — soda
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spring — of water
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. firm — decided
  15. spring — the season
  16. land — to come down
  17. firm — a company
  18. land — ground
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. land — a country
  21. cue — for pool
  22. pop — music
  23. roll — a cake
  24. dip — to sink

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