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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cue — a signal
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. dip — to sink
  6. spell — letters
  7. content — happy
  8. spell — magic
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bat — the animal
  24. dip — a sauce

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