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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: cold · cue · bound · hand · foot · ball · capital · firm

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — decided
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. capital — a city
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bound — certain
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bound — tied together
  13. firm — steady
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. ball — a dance
  17. capital — money
  18. bound — obliged
  19. hand — help
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ball — a great time
  22. hand — in cards
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. cue — for pool

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