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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: cue · cap · tube · bark · bat · cold · suit · chair

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bark — to shout
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. suit — to fit
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. suit — in cards
  14. cue — a signal
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. tube — a container
  17. cue — a hint
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — not warm
  20. suit — clothes
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — a hat

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