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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 · tube · staff · pass · hand · cap · ball · land

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cap — a hat
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. staff — a stick
  7. tube — a container
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cap — of ice
  10. tube — the underground
  11. hand — in cards
  12. land — a country
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cap — a lid
  17. land — ground
  18. pass — a permit
  19. ball — a great time
  20. staff — employees
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. land — to come down
  23. staff — employees
  24. hand — help

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