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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: bore · cabinet · land · cue · cold · cap · pop · sharp

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. land — ground
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pop — soda
  5. cap — of ice
  6. land — a country
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. land — to come down
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cue — for pool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cue — a signal
  21. pop — music
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bore — to drill
  24. sharp — with an edge

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