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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — government
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. perch — the fish
  7. cue — for pool
  8. club — for golf
  9. cue — a hint
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. rule — a law
  19. land — ground
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — a group

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