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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 116 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 · wake · cold · spring · bound · fan · pitch · object

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cue — a signal
  3. object — a thing
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bound — certain
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cue — a hint
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bound — tied together
  12. object — to protest
  13. cue — for pool
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. object — an aim
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. spring — of water
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bound — obliged
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. spring — the season
  24. wake — a trail

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