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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 116 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. game — wild animals
  3. scale — size or range
  4. drill — a practice
  5. field — for sport
  6. drill — army training
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. game — a match
  9. cue — for pool
  10. scale — in music
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. content — happy
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. drill — the tool
  15. cue — a hint
  16. field — farmland
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. field — a subject
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. content — the amount
  24. ruler — for measuring

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