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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: capital · cold · coach · roll · last · cue · bark · vault

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bark — to shout
  4. last — final
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cue — for pool
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cold — an illness
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. roll — a list
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. roll — a cake
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. vault — a safe
  22. capital — money
  23. cue — a hint
  24. capital — a city

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