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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: can · scale · wind · spring · pitcher · cue · cold · saw

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. can — to be able to
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. can — a tin
  10. cue — a signal
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. spring — of water
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cue — for pool
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. scale — in music
  21. cue — a hint
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. spring — a coil
  24. can — a tin

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