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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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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: last · ball · cue · pass · hand · mug · cold · key

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. ball — a great time
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. mug — a face
  7. cue — a signal
  8. key — in music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ball — a dance
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. last — final
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. key — for a lock
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. key — the most important part
  19. mug — to rob
  20. cue — for pool
  21. pass — a permit
  22. mug — a cup
  23. hand — in cards
  24. last — finally

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