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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. content — happy
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cue — a hint
  5. object — to protest
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cue — a signal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. content — the amount
  11. object — an aim
  12. cell — in biology
  13. snap — to click
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. object — a thing
  18. content — videos and posts

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