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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: bay · cold · row · game · spell · cue · field · cap

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cap — a lid
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cap — a hat
  7. field — a subject
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — for pool
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. row — a line
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cue — a hint
  24. spell — letters

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