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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. last — to go on
  3. content — happy
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. rush — hurry
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — a signal
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. content — the amount
  14. last — final
  15. cue — for pool
  16. last — finally
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. perch — the fish
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. prune — to trim

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