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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: bulb · date · can · wake · game · patient · cue · cold

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a signal
  4. can — to be able to
  5. game — a match
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cue — a hint
  9. game — wild animals
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cold — not warm
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. can — a tin
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bulb — for light
  20. can — a tin
  21. wake — a trail
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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