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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. content — happy
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. land — ground
  5. rule — government
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cue — for pool
  11. rule — a law
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cue — a hint
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wind — moving air
  19. land — a country
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. land — to come down
  24. calf — a young animal

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