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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: mug · prune · spring · mark · cap · game · cue · cold

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mug — a cup
  4. spring — the season
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mug — a face
  14. cue — for pool
  15. mug — to rob
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mark — a trace
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cold — an illness
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cue — a signal
  24. prune — to trim

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