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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. content — happy
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. rest — what's left
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chest — a box
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cue — a signal
  10. spring — of water
  11. rest — a break
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mate — a partner
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mate — to breed
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — for pool
  19. content — the amount
  20. spring — the season
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. drill — army training
  23. pitch — completely
  24. spring — a coil

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