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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cold — not warm
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. content — the amount
  5. cue — a signal
  6. kid — child
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cue — a hint
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kid — to tease
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ball — a great time
  16. capital — a city
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. content — happy
  23. cue — for pool
  24. ball — a round shape

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