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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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. land — a country
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. cold — an illness
  9. season — of the year
  10. cue — for pool
  11. roll — a cake
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. land — ground
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. land — to come down
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. content — the amount
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bowl — a dish

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