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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: cue · pass · lash · last · wound · ground · cold · key

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ground — crushed
  4. key — the most important part
  5. last — finally
  6. ground — a position
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. cue — a hint
  9. last — final
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cue — for pool
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. last — to go on
  17. key — for a lock
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. key — in music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cue — a signal

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