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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 116 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: band · deal · cue · lash · stand · cold · branch · spring

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cue — a hint
  8. band — a ring
  9. cold — an illness
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. spring — the season
  16. band — a music group
  17. spring — of water
  18. deal — to handle
  19. stand — to bear
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cue — a signal
  24. branch — a division

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