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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: board · bear · cue · spring · cap · toast · cold · stock

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stock — shares
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. stock — goods
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. cue — for pool
  15. board — to get on
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. toast — bread
  24. spring — a coil

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