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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: cue · face · spell · cell · clip · cap · cold · plane

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. cue — a signal
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. cue — for pool
  5. face — to point toward
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cap — of ice
  9. face — to confront
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cold — an illness
  17. face — part of the head
  18. spell — letters
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. spell — magic
  24. plane — a tool

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