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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cue — a signal
  4. spring — a coil
  5. content — happy
  6. hand — help
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. march — music
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spring — the season
  11. march — the month
  12. spring — of water
  13. cue — for pool
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. content — the amount
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. march — the month
  19. object — a thing
  20. cue — a hint
  21. object — an aim
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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