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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: dip · plane · capital · spell · band · ruler · cue · cold

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. band — a ring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. spell — magic
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cue — for pool
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. band — a music group
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. spell — a short time
  18. dip — to sink
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. plane — a tool
  21. cold — an illness
  22. capital — money
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. capital — a city

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