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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: rash · cold · cue · swing · cell · spell · pass · cabinet

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. swing — music
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cue — for pool
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. swing — in golf
  18. spell — magic
  19. rash — a series
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. pass — a permit
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cell — in biology

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