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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: staff · spell · cold · swing · kid · cue · lie · bay

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cue — for pool
  9. swing — music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. staff — employees
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. staff — a stick
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cold — an illness
  24. kid — child

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