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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. last — final
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. cue — a hint
  11. row — to paddle
  12. last — finally
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. content — happy
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. last — to go on
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. content — the amount
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spring — the season
  24. cue — for pool

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