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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: present · cold · cue · wave · date · firm · capital · board

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cue — for pool
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. board — a committee
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — decided
  7. cold — not warm
  8. capital — a city
  9. cue — a signal
  10. board — to get on
  11. cue — a hint
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. firm — steady
  14. present — the time now
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. present — there
  19. cold — an illness
  20. date — the fruit
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. present — a gift
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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