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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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. content — videos and posts
  5. cue — for pool
  6. capital — money
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. land — a country
  9. content — the amount
  10. cell — in biology
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. current — electric
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. current — of water
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. current — happening now
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cue — a signal

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