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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — for pool
  3. rash — hasty
  4. content — happy
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. prune — to trim
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. drill — a practice
  12. rash — a series
  13. field — a subject
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. field — for sport
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. field — farmland
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bass — the fish

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