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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: field · bass · spring · cold · can · cue · sharp · bay

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bass — the fish
  3. cue — for pool
  4. can — a tin
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. cold — not warm
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. spring — a coil
  13. field — a subject
  14. can — a tin
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. cue — a signal
  18. can — to be able to
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cue — a hint
  24. spring — of water

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