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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: pound · cue · cap · spell · bear · net · cold · bay

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. spell — magic
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bear — the animal
  6. spell — letters
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. net — after costs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cap — of ice
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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