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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. content — happy
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. capital — money
  6. content — the amount
  7. swing — music
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cue — a hint
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. swing — to play on
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. bore — to drill
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cue — a signal
  19. swing — in golf
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. saw — the tool
  22. capital — a city
  23. march — music
  24. cue — for pool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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