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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: cap · wound · kid · cue · club · spell · field · ruler

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. spell — magic
  4. club — for golf
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cue — for pool
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. kid — child
  10. cap — a lid
  11. field — farmland
  12. cap — a hat
  13. field — a subject
  14. spell — letters
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for dancing
  21. field — for sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cap — of ice
  24. spell — a short time

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