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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  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 hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — a video
  5. content — happy
  6. charge — a price
  7. rock — music
  8. charge — electricity
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. content — the amount
  12. march — the month
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. march — music
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. clip — for paper
  19. charge — in control
  20. tube — the underground
  21. clip — to cut
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rock — a stone
  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