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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: ball · spell · pound · squash · cold · cap · bay · wind

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cap — a lid
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. spell — magic
  6. cap — of ice
  7. ball — a great time
  8. squash — to crush
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pound — a weight
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. spell — letters

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