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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 116 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. content — happy
  3. bass — low music
  4. cue — a signal
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cue — for pool
  8. content — the amount
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ball — a dance
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. row — to paddle
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — a line
  20. squash — the sport
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. squash — to crush

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