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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: hand · kid · cue · snap · bay · capital · stem · cold

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. snap — to click
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. cue — for pool
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. capital — money
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. kid — child
  11. stem — to come from
  12. cue — a signal
  13. capital — a city
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cold — an illness
  17. hand — help
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cold — not warm
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. hand — part of the body

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