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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cell — a phone
  4. content — the amount
  5. row — a line
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. content — happy
  9. cue — for pool
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. cue — a hint
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. foot — a measure
  15. net — in sport
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. row — to paddle
  19. net — for catching
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. net — after costs
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. cell — in biology
  24. content — videos and posts

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