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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bat · spell · cold · sharp · band · rest · date · cue

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. date — the fruit
  8. spell — magic
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. cue — for pool
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cold — an illness
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cue — a hint
  17. sharp — clever
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cue — a signal
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bat — for baseball

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