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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: cold · kid · cue · bass · mug · capital · present · band

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cue — a signal
  5. kid — to tease
  6. present — the time now
  7. cold — an illness
  8. present — a gift
  9. cue — for pool
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cue — a hint
  12. capital — a city
  13. band — a ring
  14. bass — low music
  15. band — a music group
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. present — there
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. mug — a cup
  20. capital — money
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mug — a face
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mug — to rob

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