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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. content — happy
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — completely
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cue — for pool
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. shower — to wash
  10. lie — to recline
  11. toast — bread
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. court — of a king
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. cue — a hint
  17. shower — rain
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. court — of law
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. content — the amount
  23. cold — not warm
  24. court — for sport

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