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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: spring · bank · cold · pop · mate · cap · fall · cue

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bank — for money
  5. spring — the season
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pop — to visit
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spring — of water
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. fall — the season
  14. cue — a hint
  15. pop — music
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bank — of a river
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bank — for money
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cue — a signal

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