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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: capital · cue · pop · board · spell · fork · spring · bowl

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. pop — soda
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. board — to get on
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. capital — money
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pop — music
  11. capital — a city
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. spring — of water
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. spell — letters
  18. board — a committee
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fork — in a road
  22. pop — to visit
  23. spell — magic
  24. cue — for pool

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