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

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  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. content — happy
  2. present — there
  3. firm — decided
  4. net — for catching
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. firm — steady
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. present — a gift
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cue — for pool
  14. content — the amount
  15. rest — what's left
  16. net — in sport
  17. cue — a signal
  18. present — the time now
  19. capital — money
  20. net — after costs
  21. capital — a city
  22. firm — a company
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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