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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. row — a line
  4. court — for sport
  5. staff — employees
  6. cue — for pool
  7. staff — a stick
  8. tear — from crying
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cue — a signal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. content — the amount
  14. court — of a king
  15. shower — to wash
  16. court — of law
  17. cue — a hint
  18. tear — from crying
  19. staff — employees
  20. shower — rain
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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