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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cue · board · spell · cold · hand · suit · mine · kid

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cue — a signal
  4. kid — child
  5. hand — help
  6. cold — an illness
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. board — a committee
  10. spell — letters
  11. mine — for digging
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cue — for pool
  15. hand — in cards
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. board — to get on
  19. suit — to fit
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. suit — clothes
  23. cue — a hint
  24. suit — in cards

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