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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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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: cue · fall · cold · cap · spell · cell · chip · craft

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cue — for pool
  5. craft — boats
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cue — a signal
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. spell — letters
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cell — in biology
  20. chip — to eat
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. chip — for betting
  23. cap — of ice
  24. spell — magic

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