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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: jam · cold · bound · game · cue · spring · cap · staff

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — for pool
  9. staff — employees
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — obliged
  12. spring — of water
  13. staff — a stick
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. cap — a hat
  16. game — a match
  17. spring — the season
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cap — of ice
  20. game — wild animals
  21. staff — employees
  22. bound — certain
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. spring — a coil

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