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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cue — a signal
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. kid — to tease
  5. saw — the tool
  6. content — happy
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. firm — decided
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cue — a hint
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. cue — for pool
  14. firm — steady
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. content — the amount
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. firm — a company
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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