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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cue — for pool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. swing — in golf
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cue — a hint
  9. ball — a great time
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cold — an illness
  16. content — happy
  17. ball — a dance
  18. cold — not warm
  19. content — the amount
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cue — a signal
  24. chip — for betting

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