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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. snap — to click
  5. field — a subject
  6. cue — for pool
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cue — a signal
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. swing — music
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. swing — to play on
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. swing — in golf
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cue — a hint

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