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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.

Make a worksheet

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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. content — the amount
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. track — a path
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cue — for pool
  13. content — happy
  14. track — a song
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cue — a signal
  18. track — to keep track

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