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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: spell · band · cue · cold · bay · rest · present · snap

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cue — for pool
  3. spell — letters
  4. band — a ring
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. present — a gift
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. spell — a short time
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. spell — magic
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rest — a break
  13. present — there
  14. band — a music group
  15. cue — a hint
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. cue — a signal
  20. present — the time now
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. cold — an illness

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