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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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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: spring · chair · date · cold · cue · pass · deal · present

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. spring — the season
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. date — the fruit
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. present — a gift
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cue — for pool
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cue — a hint
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pass — a permit
  15. cue — a signal
  16. present — there
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. present — the time now
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. spring — of water
  22. cold — an illness
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. spring — a coil

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