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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. spring — the season
  4. branch — a division
  5. cue — a hint
  6. land — to come down
  7. spring — a coil
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. land — a country
  10. spell — a short time
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bore — to tire
  13. spell — magic
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. spring — of water
  16. land — ground
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. spell — letters
  20. row — a line
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. cue — for pool

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