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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 120 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: bear · cold · cap · cue · ball · fork · track · drill

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cap — a lid
  5. track — a path
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. track — to keep track
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. drill — a practice
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cap — of ice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bear — the animal
  17. track — a song
  18. drill — army training
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cold — an illness
  24. ball — a round shape

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