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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. band — a music group
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. cue — a hint
  7. scale — in music
  8. cue — a signal
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. game — a match
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cue — for pool
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. content — the amount
  18. scale — size or range
  19. band — a ring
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. game — wild animals
  24. content — happy

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