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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. staff — employees
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. content — happy
  5. file — a document
  6. staff — employees
  7. wax — to grow
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. file — a tool
  10. capital — a city
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cue — a hint
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. file — a line of people
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. capital — money
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. sharp — clever
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. content — the amount
  23. cue — a signal
  24. snap — to click

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