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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. content — the amount
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cue — a hint
  10. mug — a cup
  11. cue — for pool
  12. mug — a face
  13. spell — letters
  14. last — finally
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. last — final
  17. mug — to rob
  18. last — to go on
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cue — a signal
  21. spell — a short time
  22. content — happy
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spell — magic

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